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Evernote and the cloud
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Posted by WSP
Sep 14, 2016 at 09:42 PM
Evernote has announced that in the next few months it will be shifting all of its data over to the Google Cloud Platform:
https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2016/09/13/evernotes-future-cloud/
and that news is stirring up a lively discussion on the Evernote forum:
https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/99561-evernote’s-future-is-in-the-cloud/?page=1
I’m not sure I understand all the implications of this decision, but my gut feeling is that Evernote may be moving toward a buyout—possibly by Google?
Posted by Dr Andus
Sep 14, 2016 at 11:25 PM
WSP wrote:
>I’m not sure I understand all the implications of this decision, but my
>gut feeling is that Evernote may be moving toward a buyout—possibly
>by Google?
I kind of doubt that (the Google acquisition)—though if that were the case, that would make me (as a Chrome OS enthusiast) more interested in Evernote, hoping that it might lead to some interesting integration into the Google ecosystem.
Posted by shatteredmindofbob
Sep 14, 2016 at 11:29 PM
I’m not sure how much I’d read into this. It’s entirely possible that Google just gave them a deep discount on using their infrastructure in exchange for making a lot of noise about the move and serving as a reference client.
It could also be the beginning of a much-feared acquisition, but I’m not sure what Google would get out of Evernote.
Posted by xtabber
Sep 15, 2016 at 01:47 AM
shatteredmindofbob wrote:
>It could also be the beginning of a much-feared acquisition, but I’m not
>sure what Google would get out of Evernote.
Evernote would be a perfect step up from Google Keep on Android. I don’t really see it happening, but if it did, I certainly would not fear that acquisition.
Posted by xtabber
Sep 15, 2016 at 11:33 AM
From the Google Cloud Platform blog:
“Evernote evaluated multiple public cloud vendors and specifically chose Google Cloud Platform for our advanced data analytics and machine learning capabilities. By taking advantage of the advancements in machine learning such as voice recognition and translation, Evernote will continue to explore innovative new features that allow users to naturally capture their ideas at ‘the speed of thought.’”
Among other things, that means Google will be able to use Evernote contents in ad targeting algorithms. That sounds scary, but it is really just a drop in the bucket of information Google collects from many sources you may be aware of (e.g., Gmail, Google Search, etc.) or not aware of, such as beacons and trackers from hundreds of independent agencies and data vendors.
Also, Google provides users with explicit options to restrict how collected data about you are used. Microsoft and Apple collect and use data in much the same way but don’t acknowledge that and don’t provide similar clear opt-out options.
If you are really concerned about privacy, consider also that Google’s cloud provides much better security than any standalone firm can provide on their own servers. Would you rather your notes be used for ad targeting or be posted on WikiLeaks by hackers?