Google Taking Over
About a couple of weeks ago, I was studying at my house until the wee hours of the night. I was craving a midnight snack and went across the street to Wendy's. When I was about to pay, I realized I left my wallet at home. It was a time like that one where I wish I had access to my credit card to make some sort of payment instead of going back home to get some cash.
According to sources, owners of Google smartphones can process mobile payments via-near field communications. This puts Google in competition with MasterCard, AT&T, and other companies that want in on this new technology.
In other words, these users (Google/Android) can purchase goods on their mobile devices through Google Checkout. In my opinion, I trust Google because they're very secure and efficient. But there's no reason dealing with a third party when it comes to my bank account. Now people all over are going to go crazy spending money, which these companies want, and college students such as myself will have to beware of overdraft charges and things of that nature.
One huge problem I see is what privacy do they have when your phone is stolen? When people steal your credit card, they ask for ID or a pin number, so there are some precautions. But most people have their password automatically saved on their mobile device. It's something I'm sure they're working on.
Maybe I'd have to see the final product. I like what they're doing, however, I feel a little skeptical about it.
Facebook: We Got Answers
Slowly, Facebook is becoming a monopoly of the Internet. Yes I said it! There's over 500 million users and it's only getting bigger.
Last year when the Social Network came out, Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the new changes Facebook was going through in a 60-Minutes interview.
One of the new additions he had stated was that Facebook was going to be able to change it's search filter so that friends can see what people say about products or anything they search on.
Let's say I'm interested in buying a pair of Nike Basketball shoes. I put the model of the shoe in the search button and then I can see what friends or other friends have to say about them. Instead of reading some random rating from someone, I can see what MY friends have to say.
I agree with you on being skeptical with the new Google pay by phone. I believe that I would not be using the new method of payment on my phone because I constantly worry about hackers. With every new electronic payment process, the more people there are that are trying to beat the new methods. On top of all that, people have to worry even more about the possibility of losing their phone or someone stealing it. If you keep that much information on a cellphone, people will start treating it as gold and as a gateway for identity theft. You are right when you say most people say their passwords on their phones, but with these new payment methods, they might want to start having a password to get into the phone. People definitely need to worry about the privacy dangers when considering using this new technology. Its one thing for Starbucks to do it because it has to be a Starbucks card that has a limited amount of money on it, but a credit card is extremely dangerous for people to use electronically!
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ReplyDeleteIt seems that Facebook is catching on with Twitter and their "trending" feature. I think it's a very smart move on their part because sometimes a friend's opinion about a product can have a huge impact on your final decision. The new search tool will be great when dealing with new, unfamiliar products and technologies that you are not completely sure of and it will even encourage people to add more friends just to have a bigger network of people to rely on.
ReplyDeleteI know that many people will love this new Facebook feature but I still do not see the benefit. I really hope that there is an opt-out option to it. What if all of my friends “like” the pair of Nike shoes I am planning to buy, wouldn’t we all be target of spam, pop ups and unsolicited ads from retailers selling the shoes? Add this to all the information that Facebook already has about us and we may even have Mr. Zuckerberg sleeping on our bed anytime soon just to see how we sleep and what we dream. One thing is to build a social network and another thing is to spy and follow us everywhere. Don’t we have enough with all the cameras and RFI devices everywhere?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Norberto, I believe that Facebook will soon become what we are so afraid of... Just another website to check out. That's exactly what happened to My Space. All the advertisement and unnecessary things made it boring and overwhelming. Also, all these new features of face recognition, little shopping helpers(WOM) so that we all become dolls and buy the same things just because ALL of our friends had something to say, it almost makes me not want to have one.
ReplyDeleteAbout Google check out... well, we already do it with Amazon, Ebay, and tons of other online retailers. The freaky thing is that we are actually living in the future and we are not aware of it. It has been only a few decades (1971) that the government stopped converting or backing up bills with gold, and now we can pay with nothing but a phone???? not even the Jetsons thought of that.
When I heard about Google’s new payment option I did think about security and privacy, however I didn’t consider the situation where my phone got lost or stolen. This is something I hope they would consider, and hopefully there is a way to protect their customers. Other than that it is such a convenient way to make a payment and yet another way to make things easier in the case you forget your wallet or purse. As far as watching your spending I think it is the same as using a credit or debit card. The same way you monitor your balance with a card is the way you would with this device. I think of it as another credit card.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Google, I do everything on Google: I search on Google, get my emails on Gmail and even shop with Google Checkout. But how willing am I to use Google payments? Well so far it sounds good on "paper," but to tell you the truth I am so over fees that I don't know if I want to add one more to the list. Just think about how many fees people already pay such as ATM fees, overdraft, transfer fees, etc. On the other hand, I am also worried about my privacy, which no days seems to be practically non-existent. This new system sounds great as long as long as you know where your phone is at all times, just know that losing your phone may not only mean losing your contacts or pictures but may mean losing your identity too.
ReplyDeleteI'm just curious to see what does this new method of payment brings to the table. We do not know if this is going to make wait time in lines less or if this is going to improve the productivity of the workers. All I know is that a lot of times when and paying something, I'm talking with my phone, so I guess this service would not apply to me. On the other hand, this new patented search engine for Facebook seems to be ingenious. As marketers, we need to learn everything as fast as we can about these new channels that can connect us to the consumers
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Rchuecos mentioned whether or not it will make workers more productive. Will it? I think it is a doubled edged sword. Depending on whether or not the employee is a go-getter will really determine if they will be more productive. This payment service will save time.. now it is up to the employee and its managers whether or not the extra time is being used to take care of other things. I love Google too Maribela.. They are amazing and make searching for pretty much anything as easy as typing a few words and selecting "good luck." I do however, as I mentioned in a previous post on another blog worry about security. I want to know what Google and other companies looking to use this method are going to do to make me feel safe.
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