Although it's debatable as to whether this new service is actually a more efficient social network, one thing is clear, Google is working on an important problem with this offering. While sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter have an army of users who all love to share content, filtering out the noise can be difficult. Google is hoping to use their core competency in search to help with this "filtering" process so you aren't bombarded with content that you don't really care about. There is also an argument to be made that your true social contacts are the ones you e-mail with the most so G-mail provides a natural platform which facilitates sharing with your closest friends. Only time will tell if a search company like Google can take away some of the social networking eyeballs from Facebook, but as a user of the G-mail and chat services, I wouldn't rule it out. And if you missed it, Facebook just finished a redesign of their e-mail interface in the hopes of winning more e-mail market share. This could get interesting.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/09/google-buzz-screenshots/
2 comments:
Google is under pressure for its new social media application, aka Buzz. Mainly, the concerns are over the fact that personal e-mail list is made public through the Buzz by default.
Google said that it will deal with the issue - the privacy settings will be easier to change, but the contact list will be public by default.
Is this a victory at any cost? This is a surprising strategy by Google. I think it sends a message like "we are so big now, you'd better take this without asking too many questions".
I am taking this class, and I am still not sure what Buzz does and how it works. Many people were left in the darkness and their private information was exposed without their content.
I think this is a huge dent in Google's brand image. Had they not expected this?
More info throught this link (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6720a3c4-176d-11df-87f6-00144feab49a.html)
Good points Arman. I agree that the privacy issues that have come up are very serious for Google but at the same time they have also acted quickly to clear up any confusion. It is clear that the balance between e-mail and social media is a tough one as there are clearly aspects of your life (social or otherwise) that you would not like to broadcast to your e-mail contacts.
Over time I believe Google will straighten this out as there is some utility to be found in the people you e-mail the most with. A similar backlash occurred when Facebook rolled out their Beacon program and users were unknowingly broadcasting their spending habits throughout the web. I don't think Facebook or Twitter is in any imminent danger as of yet but it will be interesting to see if Google can promote adoption of this new service.
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