Google is challenging the marketplace in mobile, social networking, OS development, browsing, office collaboration, and more. But the blood of Google remains in search, so it only makes sense for Google to experiment with progressing this technology further. This is one area they cannot afford to lag behind.

• All “private content” held by a service provider should be protected by the same standard as material on your laptop: a warrant must be obtained. Currently, the rules are murky and confusing; the government can go after server e-mail older than 180 days, for instance, with only a subpoena (no judge needed), while more recent e-mail needs a warrant.
• Warrants must be sought to access location information. Currently, says the CDT, GPS data is protected by warrant, but other data (such as that from cell phones) is not. Courts have been “all over the ballpark” on this issue.
• For “transactional” data (i.e., data that might include e-mail headers but not message content), the coalition says that a judge should be involved, though a warrant may not be needed.
• Subpoenas should only be used where government has a particular person whose data they seek; they shouldn’t be used for bulk requests on many subscribers at once without a court order. (Source)

Here is a video released to promote the campaign:

The news is a much needed boost for Google, who is seeing competition attacking from all sides. Security is likely to become a bigger issue as more of our personal lives get recorded and stored online. Google’s concentration on security may draw customers to both it’s browser and mobile software for the peace of mind. At the same competition, Apple’s iPhone was exploited in 20 sec. – allowing the hackers access to a full log of SMS messages, including those deleted.

It should be noted, however, that Chrome is relatively new and its security successes may largely be result of its relative unfamiliarity. The exploits on other browsers have largely relied on well-known existing vulnerabilities. It remains to be seen whether Chrome can maintain it’s secure status as it spreads throughout the market.

Google is the default home page for many users, but with Facebook’s livesearch integration, it is quickly becoming a popular ‘home’ for many internet users. Keep in mind that this comparison only looks at the Google.com page vs the Facebook.com page. This does not include any of Google’s other services such as Gmail, Calendar, Docs, etc.

Google has increasingly been trying to tap into Facebooks social networking market with the introduction of Orkut, Buzz, and Google Wave. However, so far all have been relative disappointments.

Of course, like the iPhone App Store, Google will screen all applications for approval and take a cut. It remains to be seen how open and accepting they are of applications.

The Good

• New Market to reach potential clients and bring attention to your services
• New revenue stream
• Integrate and make use of Google’s existing technology (Docs, Spreadsheets, Gmail, Calendar) in applications
• Google name recognition for applications

The Evil

• Looks like many of the apps are limited to Enterprise users. If you are used to making use of Google Apps Standard for your clients then many of the Apps will not be available
• $100 setup to get your App in the Marketplace
• Google takes 20% of your revenue sold on the Marketplace

Check out the release video from Google Campfire: