Would You Give Google The Sites You Visited?
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Would You Give Google The Sites You Visited?

16th February 2012

Google recently started a new program in collaboration with Knowledge Networks called Screenwise which lets people browse the web while getting payed for it. The idea behind Screenwise is that Google wants to learn more from internet users to improve their own products and services to make a better online experience for everyone.

People who already applied for the program and are part of it don’t have to do much. A few things are required in order to join. First, a participant will have to use Google Chrome as their default browser and in addition to that its required to install a special extension for the browser so Google can collect the data, like for example all the sites that are visited. You also must have a Google account (which makes sense) and you have to be at least 13 years old.

Reward

As a reward a participant is rewarded with Amazon gift cards. Just by sigining up the first gift card with a value of 5 dollars is granted, so that’s easy money. After that a participant will get an additional 5 dollars gift card every three months up to a maximum of 25 dollars. The reward for everyone who’s participating longer than a year will be determined on a later moment. If you are interested to join the program your too late (sorry). After the news broke about Screenwise Google received over 8000 +1’s and an even bigger number of applications.

Would you join?

That leaves me to the question, would you join a program like Google Screenwise to earn a little extra money? You could argue that 25 dollars is not much to give your browsing history to Google, but then again, it’s voluntary and easy earned. The idea behind Screenwise is of course not new but it’s getting a lot of attention because it’s from Google. There are many more comparable programs from research company’s that do exactly the same.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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Written By
Michel Wester is the owner of the Dutch website WebSonic.nl, started in 2004. WebSonic mainly focuses on news about Google, Twitter, and Facebook. Next to the news the site has a lot of tips for PC users and starting web developers.
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