Tell the Future

As you may have noticed, Google (or Alphabet) has been releasing new and interesting products all the time. From the announcement about Alphabet itself to a solar panel savings calculator, new stuff keeps on coming.

Yesterday, I was delighted to see this post in my Facebook newsfeed:

Google Fortune Telling? This reminded me of those old early 2000's websites that claimed they could tell your future or predict which button you would press. All a wonderful exercise in hilarity. But then, when has Google ever steered me wrong before? How could they take part in something so...well, hoaxy? So I took a leap. I clicked on the link. This is what I was presented with:

Nothing but a blank page, save for a very familiar search box. Inside, the text reads "Type here a question about your future". I began to type, and found that the searchbar began to type on its own! I was then provided with four "autofill" phrases to pick from, all relating to wartime and peril.

All of them lead to the same page:

Ah, now all is revealed. This was but a ploy to get people to donate to refugees from Syria. Honestly, I never would have clicked a link that was upfront about asking me to donate to a charity. The sad fact is that if people don't want to donate, they won't. On the other hand, if they do, they will probably be motivated enough to seek out a charity on their own.

Raising awareness is important, but Google using clickbait seems a little shady to me. I have never faltered in my trust of Google before, but now I am a tiny bit shaken. Especially considering the fact that they are constantly releasing projects that once seemed impossible, people may not be so quick to believe in all of their far-fetched projects in future.

In any case, hopefully this ploy has raised more money than would have been raised without its existence, and there's definitely some value in that.