needmobile.com

The beautiful thief.

written by Andrew McGarry

It’s impossible to blog about mobile ecommerce without talking about micro payments and the likes of Google Wallet.

Google, the biggest data parasite thief and ad saleperson in the world, makes its money from selling ads targeted using your information.

The more information Google can steal get you to hand over about yourself, the more money it can make from ads.

While its marketing team have created a fantastically non-corporate image of itself, it is in truth a beautiful thief.

And everyone loves a pretty girl.

The love/hate relationship I have with the world’s biggest search engine is always in a state of flux.

Love because they’re always throwing brilliantly marketed freebies at us, from Gmail to Google Maps. And we happily take them because we love “free”.

Hate because when you read what Google actually gets up to over at SEObook, it’s impossible not to get angry. There is no other business on earth who can get away with the things they do.

If aggressively trying to obtain your mobile number via email “security” isn’t intrusive enough for you, there’s now Google Wallet.

However, we’re much more likely to show resistance when asked to share our financial details as opposed to sharing with Google what we write and receive in emails, so a much sexier approach will be required.

Google Wallet is a smart, virtual data collector for in-store and online shopping.

It’s Catwoman’s dream data collecting device and as a result, expect her to smile and flutter her big eyelashes at you until you cave in and say, “I suppose there’s no harm in it really…”, at which point it’s no longer theft. You agreed to it.

Google Wallet: coming soon to UK?

Will you bother to read any of the epically long Terms and Conditions that will come with it? Of course not.

Nobody ever reads the T&Cs. If you did you’d never install software like iTunes in the first place.

The idea of making your phone your wallet has been kicking around now for some time. And whenever there’s data to monopolise, you can be sure that the big G will not be far behind.

The personal security issues are huge when you consider how easily some people lose their mobile phones. There’s also the issue of adoption rate. For all the fuss about QR codes, for example, their use is still relatively low.  

It’s a given that tablets and smartphones alongside iPads and iPhones will soon be generating online sales figures that dwarf those of the desktop.  Therefore, micropayments is a battleground that will soon be fought in the UK.

The question is what will your response be when faced with those eyelashes?

Who are you willing to share your financial data with? Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, IBM, and Google would all like to know. And that’s before we get onto the subject of mobile phone providers selling your data to 3rd parties.

UPDATE 14.12.11 – The smart folks over at PPChero (well, @daverosborough anyway) have just blogged about how Google Wallet and online shopping could change in 2012. Useful advice if you’re a SMB, entrepreneur or just super curious.