Over the last few weeks I’ve received lots of questions about Google’s new privacy policy. Some are quite concerned that Google is tracking them in new, nefarious ways.

To be sure, Google has changed things – but it’s neither dramatic nor evil. Google has simplified their process and disclosed that what you do on one of their websites (say,YouTube) may be visible to another one of their websites (say, Gmail).

This is something that many companies already do, and it’s good business practice. These internal processes allow Google to take what makes it money – advertising – and make it better. The more Google knows about you, the more relevant the ads you’ll be served.

After all, I don’t want to receive an ad for a doctor in Louisiana. Nor does the doctor want to pay for me to see this ad. Advertising relevance is something that is easier done online than off for the simple reason that it’s possible to customize the advertising to the individual that sees the ad.

This customization results in more relevant ads, which can lead to a greater return on the advertiser’s investment. In the end, I don’t find this nearly as worrisome as some others. Anonymity in life is nearly impossible, be it online or off. We live in an era of social security numbers and traffic cameras.

Much of what we do is the subject of public record in our local towns or counties. Connecting your computer to the Internet and paying an Internet service provider makes you identifiable. I won’t offer my thoughts on the appropriateness of these realities, as I feel they’re irrelevant. The Internet has quickly grown into a very public place and it should be treated like one. It’s the easiest way.

Jeremy Lesniak started Vermont Computing in 2001 after graduating from Clark University and opened a store on Merchants Row in May of 2003. He lives in Duxbury.