I read a story in the New York Times by David Pogue about the two new Google features released this week. In it, he mentions that GMail accounts are now free to all, provided you give GMail your cell phone number. They SMS you a registration code, and this supposedly prevents spammers from signing on.
Handing out my cell phone number this way is especially amusing in light of an NPR story I heard last weekend. It mentioned how marketers are salivating at the prospect of getting cell phone numbers for telemarketing and other purposes, but so far the phone companies have been reticent.
Now it doesn't matter. Advertisers have a convenient avenue to target you via your mobile number. Google specifically says that your mobile number won't be linked with your Google account, unless you want to, but in their paraphrased words there are “so many lovely features and services we can provide you if you give us these extra pieces of information, and remember we won't give it to other people unless you ask us to.”
It also appears that Google can broadcast to all the users in Gmail/GTalk. Not that they would, of course.
As simultaneous provider/harvester of the world's information Google's in a very powerful position. Perhaps a new corporate motto is in order for Google: “Love all, serve all, track all...”