Have you drank the Google Coolaide or "Gool-aide"? I have to admit that I have drank a bit lately but not all of it just yet. I love this post by John Andrews: by http://www.johnon.com/170/goolaide.html
For a long time I avoided the Sitemaps and Analytics. Until it dawned on me: "Google knows everything anyways", so why not use ever single tool at my disposal to make sure I maximize my online profits? I still don't trust them, but I work with them. And White Hat methods are used by many people, like me, in order to last for years in the business. I hate the idea of getting banned and starting over and over. Too damn much typing!