Giving By Searching

I don't know about you, but I am a searcher. When I do not know something, I search for it. Of course, I am talking about internet searches. For a long time, Google has been my search engine of choice. I am changing. I am still loyal to Google. I still use gMail, Google Maps, Google Groups, Blogger, and other services. I am just changing my search engine. I have found something that I like, and I hope you will try it out, too. It is called GoodSearch. You may have already heard about it. For every search, they donate $0.01 (1 cent) to the charity or non-profit of your choice. The money comes from their advertising revenue. They also have GoodShop. When you make a purchase through the GoodShop Mall, the merchant donates a portion of the purchase price back to your cause. There are a few searches which do not generate the donation. They are: 1) image searches; 2) video searches; 3) "search this site" searches; 4) searches for URL's (i.e., search terms ending in .com, .org, .net, .edu); 5) searches to sites for which the URL is well known such as HotMail, ESPN, MySpace, Facebook, GMail, AOL, etc.; 6) searches for stock quotes; 7) searches for word definitions, and 8) any searches generated from fraudulent use of the site. This seems reasonable to me. I have added a GoodSearch button at the top of the left column. When you click on the button, you will be taken to the GoodSearch home page. Just enter your search term. The cause my dontations will go to is already chosen. I have chosen for my searches to benefit my church. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think about this.

What's Up With Google?

Today, Ross noted the mashup on Google Maps that allows you to easily find your local voting location. I think that is an extremely valuable and productive use of the power of Google. But there are a couple of other Google products that I find more troubling.

The first is Google Chrome. Personally, I like Chrome. It has a clean interface (like Google, itself). It is fast. When there are a wide array of add-ons like on Firefox, it will likely be the internet browser to beat. But there is a feature in Chrome that is a little disturbing. You can open pages in what Chrome calls "Incognito Mode". They promote it by talking about the value of doing your online banking, online ordering with credit cards, etc. This mode allows you to surf the internet without leaving anything on the memory of the local computer. While this is truly valuable, it is also commonly referred to as "porn mode". You can look at whatever you want and your wife, girlfriend, kids, boss, etc. will not see anything on the memory of the computer.

The other one is a feature available in Gmail. I love Gmail. I use Gmail. I sing the praises of Gmail. It is clearly the superior to any other email program. Here is the feature: Mail Goggles. This feature was designed to benefit the Gmail user who tends to consume products that impair his judgement then fire of emails he would regret having sent. You can set the hours when the feature is in effect. When you attempt to send an email during those hours, Gmail asks you to answer some basic math problems. If you are unable to correctly answer them, you clearly are not clearheaded enough to send email.

Google would say they are simply providing a service to their users and a more valuable product for advertisers to buy space on. From a business perspective, I would have to agree. From the standpoint of a company's responsibility to its community, I think Google is inadvertantly promoting the use of pornography and the abuse of alchohol .

I still use Google. It best accomplishes the purposes for which I use it. This is just a reminder that we live in a world where the convictions of the believer are not held by the community at large. This is a world we are to be salt and light in. We are to engage and be involved in the world around us. Use Google Maps to find your voting location and influence the community around you.