In 2007, I did a seminar about data collection. I told a room of people that Google is not in the search business. They’re in the information business. As such, their goal is to be the knowledge base for the whole world. They want to spread into nearly every vertical. With enough data, it will make sense for us to let them. Back then, it was a cute theory. Today, it’s starting to turn into a relatively-easily made prediction that didn’t require a crystal ball or half a brain to see. When Google made their strongest move into local by changing Google Places, they truly started to declare their desire for…