Google says it right in their mission statement:
"Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."
But few people really stop to think what this really means, and thus misunderstand some of Google's more recent moves. When they say: "the world's information", they mean all the world's information - including all information about you.
Consider Google+, the newish social media platform pushed so heavily by Google. It's real purpose wasn't just to create a serious competition for Facebook (though that certainly was a bonus). And while the ultimate reason for the Google-Facebook enmity is that Facebook hides large amounts of information inside a walled garden that Google can't access, collecting the same kind of information on Google+ that Facebook hides is only a useful bonus. Google+ would still be almost as useful to Google if Facebook didn't exist.
No, the real reason for Google+ is that using it encourages users to be logged in to their Google accounts all the time. And as long as you do that, Google can associate all your Google searches with you, personally, and also can adjust all their Google AdSense ads to reflect your specific interests - and AdSense ads can be found on almost any site on the Internet.
This is the real reason why Google+ will never be overrun with ads like Facebook is. It doesn't need to - as long as you remain logged in to Google+, most the rest of the Web will serve as a giant ad platform targeted to you.
Now consider their newest shiny thing: Google Glass. Lots of people focus on the camera, and its potential applications and possibilities for privacy abuse. But if I am correct, the camera is far from the purpose of the glasses - they, and the Augmented Reality function, are the hook. Google hasn't simply switched course merely to compete with Apple in the fancy high-end gadget market. Again, while diverting some of Apple's revenue is a nice bonus, it is not the ultimate goal.
No, what Google wants is for everyone to be logged in to their Google account not merely when they are in front of a computer or actively using a smart phone - but all the time, and sending their position data to Google while they are logged in. This is merely the next step in their quest to record everything there is to know about your entire life. Wherever you are, whatever you do - Google will log it and store it in their databases. And the more they know about you, the better will they be able to tailor ads to you - which is by far their biggest source of revenue.
Whether you are willing to accept this for the sake of the apps and features is for you to decide. But my guess is that the number of the willing will continue to increase.
