Google Monitors All Our Information?

As a small business owner, I take the privacy of my proprietary business information and information about transactions with my customers very seriously.

And as a Google G-mail customer, I really enjoy the company's many services.  But I sometimes check Google's official blog site, and I have to admit to being a bit alarmed about something I read from the company Oct. 30.  The post went on at length discussing how closely Google monitors all our information as it passes through the company's servers, to ensure the highest possible reliability benchmarks are being met.

I appreciate Google's focus on reliability.  But a red flag went up in my mind as I wondered what Google does with all that information it's gleaning about my business and my customers.  Does it sell it?  Does it use it to better target advertising?  Does it use it to better judge what new services its customers might want?  And how long does Google retain the information it captures?

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but something tells me I ought to check it out.  To remain competitive, small businesses must protect their proprietary information - their competitive edge - and be sensitive to the privacy concerns of their customers.  I know for a fact that I have not given explicit consent to Google to read my information or share it with third parties - nor have my customers to my knowledge.  If my customers and I don't want our information viewed or shared by Google, is there a way I can prevent it? 

With all the buzz about privacy and identity theft, this may be an area where a little extra vigilance is advised - for the protection of my business and my customers.