Great question, Aziz -- I'm surprised it seemed to take this long for Google Buzz to come up on this list. I, for one, am surprised at how poorly Google seems to have handled this entire program. The automatic opt-in, the automatic harvesting of email contacts, the connections to others' accounts -- some of Buzz's features could be quite helpful in a world free of private correspondence and compartmentalized connections. But we don't live in a world like that, and Google seems to have failed to grasp that entirely in making Buzz. It is much like early iterations of Gmail -- I saw a blog post pointing out how Gmail didn't have a delete button when it first launched, because Google wondered why one would ever need to delete an email with as much storage space as they were offering. This represented a naive sort of ignorance on Google's part -- of course there are reasons beyond space constraints for deleting emails! Emails to an attorney, conversations with an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, planning a surprise for a partner or roommate who might stumble across your iGoogle page or Gmail inbox. (To say nothing of discussions of illicit or controversial behavior...) See also: Google Maps Street View. As for Buzz, a friend made a pretty good observation: "I don't have a problem with it, necessarily, but I sure would if I were having an affair." It is troubling to me that Google will roll something like this out in Beta before considering its implications for privacy and safety. They have backpedaled a bit, I believe (you can now opt-out more easily, from what I hear), but I wonder whether this comes too late for some people. Astute observers may have been able to gather data on people before everyone knew what was going on and changes were implemented by Google. Given Google's prominence and power, I wish they were a bit more cautious in implementing new programs that affect the online world for millions (billions?) of people. Maybe Google could have some kind of outside focus group or ombudsman program to help break through their naivete and consider users' concerns *before* a product is rolled out. -Justin ------------------------------------------------------- Justin Reedy Doctoral student Department of Communication University of Washington ------------------------------------------------------- ***** From: Aziz Douai <azizdouai@gmail.com> To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:33:32 -0500 Subject: [Air-L] Privacy Buzz Hi everyone, I guess I am one of the lurkers on the listserv, but here goes my first contribution: Buzz. If you have used the new google social network service, how do you feel about the seeming violation of privacy? A few days ago, I decline my Gmail's insistence on adding trying the new feature/service. Now, the New York Times has a great article (Critics Say Google Invades Privacy with New Service: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/13/technology/internet/13google.html) on how users' rights to privacy appear to have been violated. The article raises the interesting question of how totalitarian regimes may use the service to suppress political dissent. Google's rhetoric and carefully constructed image following its row with China is put to test. Anyway, I am curious as to how AIR members have found the feature with regard to both privacy and security. Cheers, Aziz ------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aziz Douai, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Communication Program Faculty of Criminology, Justice and Policy Studies University of Ontario Institute of Technology 2000 Simcoe Street North Oshawa, ON L1H 7K4 E-mail: aziz.douai@uoit.ca/ <http://aziz%2Edouai@uoit.ca/> azizdouai@gmail.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both." James Madison, 1822 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------