Lately, have been thinking about the fact that I am tracked by Google almost everywhere I go–as long as my cell phone or tablet is with me.

To the left, you can see results from an amazing program I discovered yesterday at Junkee, and mental wheels are turning. Panic hasn’t set in, but that’s probably because I’m a law-abiding citizen and really don’t have anything to hide. But still….

Like most of you, my cell phone is rarely far from me–unless I happen to drive off and accidentally leave it at home.  And that’s a panic-inducing event. But to have Google tracking steps and stops in my own home (just zoom in!) or where I wander on Sunday hikes? Something short of panic might be my feeling of unease–and uncertainty.

The intrusiveness of not only Google, but the NSA, IRS, the HCA and other three-lettered government agencies is beginning to chafe at our collective psyches. And with new apps and programs, we can see what may be going on behind the scenes–and sometimes dish it out ourselves (or so we think).

I use a little program called YesWare that tracks my outgoing email. It supposedly allows me to see when an email is opened by the recipient. That may be true, but what is more interesting is that a local Carlsbad, CA email might show it being opened in Mannassas, VA,  Germany, Amsterdam, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the world. I have changed email passwords to no avail.

It it the NSA? Foreign hackers? A buggy program?

These things are a concern and raise alarm bells about fundamental rights to privacy. On the other hand, if I were kidnapped with my phone I would be tracked by Google and could be easily found.

Email is another story.

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Bloomberg reports that Louis Vuitton, with its monogrammed bags and luggage, handily outranks its luxury brand competitors for the fifth straight year. With a reported value of $19.8 billion, Vuitton ranks 29th worldwide for all industries–and more than twice the combined value of Hermes and Gucci combined.

Even though the luxury sector of the market has experienced an overall decline of 3 percent in value, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci and Tiffany managed to grow their businesses by focusing on craftsmanship, heritage, and pricing maintenance said Bloomberg. Included in the Brandz 2010 study cited in the story are other brands in the top 10 luxury ranking. They include Chanel, Henessey, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Cartier and Fendi.

Prada, regrettably, was dropped from the top 10 rankings.

The most valuable brand in the world, though, would have to be Google, with its estimated value of $114.3 billion according to the Millard Brown Optimor’s 2010 Brands raking of the most valuable luxury labels.

In our closets and chests, though, most of us would prefer to have labels such as Vuitoon, Hermes, Gucci, Tiffany, Rolex, Cartier or Fendi.

In our stock accounts? A thousand shares of Google would do quite nicely!

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Zillow founder Rich Barton loves placing industries inside glass houses (most notably in real estate), and may now become the cause of painful overexposure (or welcome relief) for industry executives. It seems he just unveiled GlassDoor, which will reveal salary reports, compensation figures and reviews from employees.

GlassDoor, based in Sausalito, CA, currently has around 2,000 salary reports from over 250 companies along with a current reports from around 1300 employees of these companies. In order to lure the curious, the site is offering free peeks into salaries and employee reviews for Google, Inc., Yahoo, Inc, Microsoft, and Cisco Systems, Inc.

I don’t yet know whether the site will remain free or become one based on paid subscriptions. We might imagine that if GlassDoor is sticky enough and has a gazillion visitors, advertising might pay its way.

According to the San Jose Business Journal, who released the story, GlassDoor will be reviewing salaries and reports prior to posting.

Current spotlight?

Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, has an employee approval rating of 83 percent, while Cisco CEO John Chambers scores 93 percent. This may prove to be one of the hottest water coolers around.

Kudos for the coup, Rich Barton!

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