Ad-funded surveillance quietly undergirded the supposedly world-changing tech platforms.

Evidence

The founders of the Silicon Valley companies, enthusiastic publications like Wired, and the US government itself all routinely professed—and seemed to believe—they were “changing the world.” For the better, of course. But they also needed to make money. And for many of them, the solution to that problem was advertising. I, myself, remember being delighted when I could begin using Gmail, the robust email service from Google. You had to get an invitation back in 2004. I never really thought to ask what paid for it. The answer came out eventually, which is that Google searched all of your communications in order to understand you better, so that other companies could sell you more things. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 291

Categorization

• SHARE: The detail that early Gmail required an invitation and users never asked what paid for it lands well with anyone revisiting 2000s tech nostalgia.
• XREF: connects to: Surveillance capitalism operates quietly through ambient technology that bypasses our awareness — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1200; New surveillance technologies are deliberately disguised in familiar forms to ease adoption. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 488; Surveillance capitalism emerged gradually and initially read as incidental corporate missteps — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 51 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Surveillance capitalism operates quietly through ambient technology that bypasses our awareness #corroborates (0.88) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1200
• Surveillance capitalism’s prediction imperative modifies behavior using secret means beyond awareness. #expands (0.82) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 612
• New surveillance technologies are deliberately disguised in familiar forms to ease adoption. #qualifies (0.78) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 488
• Surveillance capitalism emerged gradually and initially read as incidental corporate missteps #expands (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 51
• Surveillance capitalism advanced through corporate control, lawless space, and cultural fortification against scrutiny #expands (0.74) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 321