Stats for dontbeevil and protestgoogle are seeing more than passing interest from a user at Stratfor. Stratfor's website says they specialize in "custom intelligence services," and their IP address (207.59.83.122) has downloaded just about every page I have on censorship, including the virtual protest and information on Google's stockholders' meeting this coming Thursday.

While it could be that this is just a curious user, the pattern of activity suggests there's something more. I can see that the user is searching my full name (which I've published before, but haven't made terribly easy to find), along with very specific protest-related searches.

As a Google shareholder, I sure hope Google's not wasting cash on Stratfor consulting to get intelligence on what I'm doing. There are no secrets, all you have to do is ask - my email is in the upper right corner of every page, and I haven't heard from Google yet.

And if Google is paying big bucks for Stratfor consulting, I sure hope they're getting more than a few amateurish Google searches for their money. Heck, since I use Google services like Blogger, Gmail, Analytics and Search History, Google has far more info on me than Stratfor does. And Stratfor is finding me through some very newbie searches:

[google "mountain view" protest]
[google shareholder meeting may 11 protest]
[google censorship]
And a malformed query on my name.

If Stratfor knew what they were doing, they might try a site search, or go after those RSF, Amnesty* and Falun Gong guys.

No secrets here, and no security threat either. Just a friend and Google shareholder who's deeply disappointed that Google has rationalized away a big part of their Don't Be Evil ethic, tarnishing the Google brand in the process.

Google, don't spend your cash on high-priced corporate "intelligence," but spend it instead building great products -- products that raise your users' IQ, not products that censor the most important information and repress legitimate human expression.

If you wanna know, just ask.

Here's what Stratfor does:

Public Policy Intelligence: Confidential service designed to assist companies and associations with strategic planning and risk management. Clients are able to actively prepare for future public policy developments relating to their interests, at home or abroad, in a wide range of industries, including energy, oil and gas, mining and minerals, forest products, defense, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

Protective Intelligence: A comprehensive management solution to individual and corporate security concerns. From proprietary counter surveillance and protection methodology to proactive and preventive approaches, clients are able to develop and implement a robust security strategy to address and minimize risk.

*Update 1:12 PM PDT - Looks like Stratfor *is* researching those Amnesty guys after all. Just saw another hit from the same Stratfor IP address, now searching for ["amnesty international" google "may 11] (sic). Hope the Strafor guys aren't charging more than minimum wage for this insightful "intelligence" work.