Google Profiles - a VRM play?

The new Google profile seems like a really interesting development by Google - here is a legitimate way of gaming their system - for vanity searches anyway.
This is a way for Google to encourage people to self identify all their other web presences - their Facebook page, LinkedIn, Flickr etc - and tell Google more about them generally. As John Battelle points out - this is a big deal.
But is there more to it than that? Could it be the Google way into VRM?
Now I have a profile its quite easy for Google to encourage me to build that out with some brand/product preferences. What if they asked me what brands I don't want to hear from - and those that I do? With Googles integration of DoubleClick they have the ability to determine what display ads I see - and the data from my profile could radically increase the value of those ads.
I get to reduce the amount of irrelevant marketing noise I get across all the sites served by DoubleClick and Google get to charge advertisers a premium to avoid people who don't want to hear from them - and, crucially, to reach people in market.
And because I've chosen to declare my interests by building my profile, rather than having it inferred through my searches, there is less here to concern privacy advocates.
One of the challenges of VRM is how players in this market establish credibility - Google just don't have that problem. If you're interested in learning more about VRM you should read Alan Mitchell

Comments

[Ethan Bauley]

The magic of VRM is not just in reducing supply (filtering out BS) but communicating demand (enabling buyers to communicate to vendors.

e.g. "personal RFP":

"I need a stroller for two babies in Los Angeles tomorrow for less than $50"

Kind of like a natural language Google, that's conversational.

See Aardvark: vark.com

(I have Vark invites if you want one)

[simon andrews]

Wow - that looks really interesting - could I get an invite? Thanks Ethan