Ugh. Not more than one month after I finally delete my facebook page, does my main connection to social media – my gmail account, joke – actually enter the realm of Social Media. My first questions are concerning privacy, as the constantly changing TOS and privacy policies were central to my leaving Facebook. I don’t want a news feed of ambient shared posts, I’m perfectly happy with Google Reader for when I’m bored. I enjoy being able to check my email without having to chat if I don’t want to. I understand the need to compete, Google, but seriously? Why can’t email be email and this other bullshit be stupid somewhere else. I know, I know. Mature. Here is someone much more calm and educated on the subject explaining it in laymen’s terms for me:
me: what’s this Google buzz I keep hearing about
Friend: dude I don’t know? I should, um Google It to see? Haha no It’s more like the ambient kind of communication that a facebook feed is
me: I mean I guess I ask if I need to turn anything off to privatize my email. I’m traumatized from facebook always publishing my information publicly and constantly changing their TOS, so I’m just making sure I don’t have to disable some shit that Google is automatically putting in this new buzz whosItwhatsIt
Friend: Yes totally. It’s basically Google’s play into the same kind of communication we are seeing now “the status update” although this is like that on steroids, being able to share or broadcast, relay status messages, photos, videos, whatever
me: yea with people you already communicate with via chat and email. ugh
Friend: yes. so they are kind of de-contextualizing the email contact and re-purposing it in a format we are used to now– the ‘friend” contact which implies a richer, kind of ambient relationship with them meaning on facebook you see photos, vids, messages etc that are published and you sort of passively get them you know about your friends in this very asynchronous ambient way unlike an email which Is an overt, proactive form of communication Google owned that form for years and now are trying this other form.
So, are we going to have to opt out, as we did when facebook changed their sharing policy in December? What is the default system here? Is it going to be more successful that Google Wave? Is this pretty much like Google Reader, but facebook-ified? Twitter-ized?
Here is a video posted on youtube and brought to you via Mashable on how to use GoogleBuzz. I’m still sketchy on the privacy issues.
Tags: facebook, google buzz, social media
February 10, 2010 at 1:21 am |
I am completely with you on the idea that email should just be email.
Google Buzz simply seems like the social media assistant that people have been wishing. It essentially links everything into one nice lil space while allowing you to share from that space.
I think it is an amazing idea but I feel as if privacy is immediately compromised by linking all your social media platforms together through an email service like this.
I also feel as if this is just Google’s way to show Facebook that it will have a contender in the fight over who runs the internet.
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Another Day On Facebook
February 21, 2010 at 11:27 pm |
Personally I think that Google Buzz’s release was a little premature, especially with the recent concern of privacy. I also think that Google’s most likely going down the same path that Windows went through around the era of Windows 2K. The latest products and releases seem to be less and less thought through and I also feel that rushed the first in the industry, and or compete with its competitors releases. The breach of privacy was an issue that did not require a rocket scientist to figrue out, a very simple idea session would have shown these issues. Do you think Google may have received too much credit last year?