buzz

AUSTIN, Texas--Privacy is not dead in the era of online social networking. It just needs careful curation.

That was the message Saturday from Danah Boyd, a social-media expert who works for Microsoft Research and who was Saturday's keynote speaker at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) festival here.

Boyd is one of the original social-media researchers, having spent years studying the dynamics of how systems like MySpace and Facebook impact teens and youth culture, and how that culture is impacting such services. But she also has demonstrated over the years a keen sense of how people across all age … Read more

Google co-founder Sergey Brin adores the company's social network called Google Buzz. We know this because an engineer working five feet from Brin used Google Buzz to say so.

"I just finished eating dinner with Sergey and four other Buzz engineers in one of Google's cafes," engineer John Costigan wrote a day after the Twitter-and-Facebook-esque service was announced. "He was particularly impressed with the smooth launch and the great media response it generated."

You might call Brin's enthusiasm premature, especially since privacy criticisms prompted Google to make a series of quick changes a … Read more

Google Buzz reminds me of what they say about the weather in a lot of places I've lived: if you don't like it, wait five minutes.

Those who wrote off Google's social networking tool as an annoying source of clutter should take note of some efforts to reform that aspect of Buzz.

"We've heard loud and clear that buzz in your inbox can get noisy--we feel it too," the Google Buzz team said in a Buzz on Thursday. Two changes, currently in testing to work with Gmail's 50 supported languages, are coming as … Read more

Weren't the folks who ordered an Intel Core i7 surprised when they got a Styrofoam fake instead? Well, yes. But we still haven't heard from Newegg how this happened. However the fake was incredibly well done. So props to that. We also discuss Apple's first iPad ad and Ubisoft's incredible DRM failure.

And the BitTorrent award goes to… http://torrentfreak.com/and-bittorrents-oscar-goes-to-district-9-100307/

Apple airs first iPad commercial during Oscars, Steve Jobs at event http://www.macrumors.com/2010/03/07/apple-airs-first-ipad-commercial-during-oscars/… Read more

I use and enjoy Google Buzz. But here's the funny thing: because of it, I've begun using Facebook more.

Buzz backfired for me for one simple reason. I wanted a mechanism for social networking with my personal contacts, but Facebook is where those ties are active.

Although I have plenty of close contacts in my Gmail address book, not all of them use Gmail and therefore Buzz. Buzz has a good framework but the wrong faces.

Of course, Google infamously pre-populated Buzz with everybody's follower lists. Leaving the privacy repercussions aside, that move did serve to jump-start Buzz so trying it wasn't like talking to yourself in an empty room, as with Wave.

But for whatever reasons relating to contact lists, algorithms, and activity, Google filled my Buzz follower and followee lists chiefly with professional contacts. … Read more

A Microsoft executive recently compared quitting Google to quitting smoking. As I approach the 10th anniversary of my last cigarette, I decided to put that to the test.

If it weren't for hyperbole, of course, marketing wouldn't be nearly as effective. But Google's presence across the Web does provoke that sort of response from competitors and even friends. From search and Google Maps to Gmail and YouTube, it can be difficult to steer clear of the Google experience during a daily trip around the Internet.

But it's not impossible, and it's not even remotely comparable … Read more

Last week, Google launched Buzz, a status update tool that has elements of Twitter, Facebook, and FriendFeed. Google launched it inside the Gmail app, giving it an instant installed base of millions of people. More importantly, Google gave Buzz access to your Gmail contacts.

When the app first launched, it's fair to say that the Buzz app was a little too eager to use and share the details of users' personal networks. Furthermore, privacy controls for Buzz were spread over multiple configuration screens. Some necessary controls, like the off switch, were just flat-out missing.

To Google's credit, within days, the company corrected the major privacy failings of Buzz. More than once, in fact: Google tweaks Buzz privacy settings Google changes Buzz privacy settings--again

But the question remains: what was Google thinking? How did this giant search company, with more lawyers than most Web companies have engineers, get itself into a situation that required it to revise the product almost immediately after it launched? And what does the Buzz experience say about social networks and privacy on the larger scale?

That's what we're going to discuss today, and we have two great guests to do it. First, we have a taped interview with Mike Yang, senior product counsel for Google. I taped this interview earlier. Then I have a discussion with Jared Kaprove, a fellow at EPIC, The Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Show notes and talking points… Read more

Google's new Buzz social-networking effort proved a privacy headache for the Web giant.

After an outcry of criticism from annoyed users and commentators, Google said it would make radical changes to the Buzz start-up experience. Along the way, Google confessed to being taken aback that people were rather upset to be already set up with a group of people to follow and be followed by.

Buzz was just tested inside Google before it launched to the general public. Perhaps those insiders didn't bring up the privacy concerns that Buzz users raised immediately following its launch. Maybe Google didn'… Read more

Google Buzz took the world by storm with its Twitter meets FriendFeed meets your e-mail inbox sort of behavior. It also caused a storm of concern over how it behaves and what information it reveals to the world.

Here's how to protect your privacy, remove Buzz notes from your Gmail inbox, and turn Buzz off altogether.

If you've never had a Google Profile before, you're in the best position to protect yourself. You can say no to Buzz altogether. Of course, you can also say yes to Buzz, but make sure your profile is private.

But let'… Read more