With the launch of Google+, there’s yet another reason for people to embed themselves even deeper within the Google empire.

The availability of free services that work well have been an irresistible and subtle attraction and, arguably, seduction for many people. Without fully realizing it, you can find yourself depending on a variety of Google services for your personal and professional lives.

For example, my Google portfolio includes Google+ (although I’m a less than enthusiastic embrace), Google Docs, GMail and Google Apps. Then, there’s my regular use of search, Google Maps and Google Images. I would suspect my embrace would be fairly typical of many people who use the Web on a regular basis.

But there is a price to be paid and danger for dancing with Google.

First, the service may cost nothing but they’re not free; there is a price to be paid. For one, Google has access to a good chunk of your activity, which not only feeds its ability to deliver increasingly relevant advertising but information about your online behaviour.

Second, Google has the ability to lock you out of your services without providing an explanation or justification for “violating” its terms of service. For anyone who has seen their online lives disappear behind the dark Google curtain of death, you know how terrifying it can be.

Sure, it’s a remote prospect but, nevertheless, people need to be aware it is part of the deal they strike with Google to gain access to “free” services. You same “deal with the Devil” applies to Facebook and Twitter.

So what can you do to protect yourself from being too dependent on Google or having Google slam the door on your nose?

Well, you could stick to non-online services such as Outlook and Microsoft Office but that would meaning not being able to take advantage of the cloud. For lots of people that would be fine but for people who travel or work away from the office on a regular basis, the cloud offers the convenience of access any time, anywhere.

Another approach is spreading your online portfolio between different service providers. Perhaps you use GMail for e-mail, Microsoft Live or Zoho for productivity services, and DropBox for collaboration and storage. While it reduces risk, it’s probably not the best or most user-friendly approach given there’s no integration between the different services.

In many cases, it means dancing with Google, and accepting the fact there are potential risks or downsides. Given the depth of the Google portfolio, it is a deal most people are willing to make.