--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cloud is still really just a bunch of…" description: "\"The cloud is still really just a bunch of servers, owned by someone or something, whose decisions and competence must be trusted. This applies to every..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/douglas-rushkoff-2188_bunch_the-cloud-is-still-really-just-a-bunch-o_2572446.png" --- # The cloud is still really just a bunch of servers, owned… ![“The cloud is still really just a bunch of servers, owned by someone or something, whose decisions and competence must be trusted. This applies to everything from Google Docs to Gmail: Putting our data out there really means putting it 'out there.'” quote by Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/douglas-rushkoff-2188_bunch_the-cloud-is-still-really-just-a-bunch-o_2572446.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/douglas-rushkoff-2188_bunch_the-cloud-is-still-really-just-a-bunch-o_2572446.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/douglas-rushkoff-2188_bunch_the-cloud-is-still-really-just-a-bunch-o_2572446.png) > “The cloud is still really just a bunch of servers, owned by someone or something, whose decisions and competence must be trusted. This applies to everything from Google Docs to Gmail: Putting our data out there really means putting it 'out there.'” [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cloud services are centralized servers whose reliability and privacy depend on trusting the providers. **In simple terms:** Cloud relies on trusting providers. Key Takeaway Assess trust before using cloud services. Themes technology privacy trust Mood cautious inquisitive Type critical analytical When to use this quote - business - personal data - software development - IT management Key Concepts cloud computing data security Questions to Reflect On - Do you know who controls your data? - What safeguards can you implement? A Different Perspective Providers can be opaque about practices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bunch/) [Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloud/) [Cloud Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloud-really-1704563/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Competence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competence/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Data Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data-really-1704565/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Google](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/google/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Putting Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/putting-data-1704566/) [Really mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-mean/) [Server](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/server/) [Servers Owned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servers-owned-1704564/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trusted/) ## Related quotes > [Data really powers everything that we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-weiner/data-really-powers-everything-that-we-do/) [Jeff Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-weiner/) > [I would only have been too pleased if someone had asked me for my data. If you really believed in your data, you wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/i-would-only-have-been-too-pleased-if-someone-had-asked-me-for-my/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [What we call our data are really our own constructions of other people’s constructions of what they and their compatriots are up to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/what-we-call-our-data-are-really-our-own-constructions-of-other/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) > [Cloud computing is a great euphemism for centralization of computer services under one server.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/cloud-computing-is-a-great-euphemism-for-centralization-of-computer/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [As a digital technology writer, I have had more than one former student and colleague tell me about digital switchers they have serviced through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/as-a-digital-technology-writer-i-have-had-more-than-one-former/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Removed from 'Gmail' doesn't necessarily mean removed from all Google servers. 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Anyone can scrape together $70.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg/akismet-started-on-a-70-dollar-a-month-server-anyone-can-scrape/) [Matt Mullenweg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mullenweg/) > [“A lot of the machines that Google is built on—commodity is the polite word for them—they're regular PCs and so they're not always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-livingston/a-lot-of-the-machines-that-google-is-built-on-commodity-is-the-polite/) [Jessica Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-livingston/) ## More by Douglas Rushkoff > [The first step toward maintaining autonomy in any programmed environment is to be aware that there's programming going on. It's as simple as understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/the-first-step-toward-maintaining-autonomy-in-any-programmed/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Digital media are biased toward replication and storage. 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Drone pilots suffer more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/digiphrenia-how-technology-lets-us-be-in-more-than-one-place-and-self/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [A currency designed for long-term storage and investment doesn't do so well at encouraging transactions and exchange in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/a-currency-designed-for-long-term-storage-and-investment-doesn-t-do/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Since the 1960s, mainstream media has searched out and co-opted the most authentic things it could find in youth culture, whether that was psychedelic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/since-the-1960s-mainstream-media-has-searched-out-and-co-opted-the/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [Children are being adultified because our economy is depending on them to make purchasing decisions. 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