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[web.git] / personal / _posts / 2018-12-12-google-scholar.md

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@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ I even found one vacancy that explicitly requested submitting a Google Scholar p
 Google Scholar provides not just a list of publications (which is of course part of the application, and which is also [available on dblp](http://dblp.org/pers/hd/j/Jung_0002:Ralf)), but also a citation count and computation of several publication-related indices.
 This post is about why I don't have a Google Scholar profile (yet).
 
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+
 First of all, having a Google Scholar profile requires a Google account.
 There is no technical necessity for this, Google already indexes my papers and other databases (like the aforementioned dblp) manage to create per-author pages just fine without authors having to have an account.
 But, of course, this is a great way for Google to tie more people into their ecosystem -- few kinds of pressure are as effective as when this directly affects hiring decisions.
@@ -21,9 +23,10 @@ Turns out I actually *have* a phone number that is public and that I am hence wi
 Seems like they insist on mobile numbers, and that is a piece of data I am not willing to share with the public or Google.
 
 Several people I spoke with were surprised to hear about Google enforcing the disclosure of phone numbers.
-I have now tried creating accounts several times, from different browsers and via different internet connections (mobile, work, home) and always got the same result.
+Google themselves say on their [help page](https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1733224?hl=en) that submitting a phone number "is optional but highly recommended".
+That's a lie: I have now tried creating accounts several times, from different browsers and via different internet connections (mobile, work, home) and always got the same dialog asking me for a phone number, with no way to skip.
 I even tried a friend's computer who said he just recently created an account without having to give a phone number.
-I am not sure what kind of profiling Google is doing here, but I was never able to skip the phone validation step.
+I am not sure what kind of profiling Google is doing here, but they seem to have some kind of heuristics for whom they ask for a phone number and whom they don't.
 
 I am considering various options, including getting a cheap prepaid SIM card just for Google.
 All of this may sound somewhat paranoid, but the point I am trying to make is this: at some point we have crossed the barrier where having a Google account was optional.