Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic about Google's new Gmail too, but I'll probably give it a try. Of course, these stories bother me somewhat, but then again, I don't really have a whole lot of secrets to keep. It doesn't really bother me either that my emails will generate content-specific ads -- as long as I don't have to click on them. They may even be helpful. As the computerworld article notes, Many e-mail systems already scan message content in an effort to block spam. I already feel like most of my financial life is being closely monitored and targeted by commercial interests, so this isn't surprising to me. Mat Honan's got a good post on these ads Google serves up.
I do wonder, however, if this email-scanning technology could be used to spy on internet users, such as filtering out words like "Osama," "jihad," "terror," whatever (not that many terrorists probably refer to them selves as such). That would definitely harsh my gig. When I refer to that last Stereolab concert as "the bomb," I don't want commandos knocking down my library cubicle.
