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Google Buzz

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Google Buzz
Developer(s)Google
Initial releaseFebruary 9, 2010 (2010-02-09)
Websitegoogle.com/buzz
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Google Buzz is a social integration and messaging tool by Google, designed to integrate into the company's web-based email program, Gmail.[1][2] Shared links and messages show up in the user's inbox.[3] Buzz focuses on integrating photos, videos, and links as part of the "conversations" aspects of Gmail like conversation threading.

Buzz allows users to choose to share publicly with the world or privately to a small group of friends each time they post.[4] Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, YouTube, Blogger, and Twitter are currently integrated. The creation of Buzz was seen by industry analysts as an attempt by Google to compete with social networking websites like Facebook and microblogging services like Twitter.[1] Buzz also includes several interface and interaction elements from other Google products (e.g. Google Reader) such as the ability to like a post.

Google executive Sergey Brin said that by offering social communications, Buzz would help bridge the gap between work and leisure,[5] but the service and its rollout have been strongly criticized for taking insufficient account of privacy concerns.

Mobile versions

When the service is accessed with a supported mobile device, Buzz tags posts with the user's current location. Users are only permitted to use the actual physical location reported by the device for their Buzz posts; unlike the Google Latitude location-sharing service, Buzz does not allow users to manually specify an arbitrary location.

The mobile version of Buzz integrates with Google Maps so users can see who is around them. Buzz posts made through Google Maps are public, and can be seen by anybody else using the software. In addition to text, mobile users' posts may include an uploaded photo. Current platforms supported are limited to devices running Android 2.0+, iPhone/iPod Touch, Windows Mobile, and S60.[3]

History

The product was announced on February 9, 2010, in a press conference at the company's Mountain View headquarters and launched on the same day, at 11:00 a.m. PT for its first wave.[6] The Google Buzz feature will be rolled out to Gmail accounts in the coming weeks and it is possible to access the service from the Gmail inbox. A mobile version of the site optimized for Android phones and Apple's iPhone has also been launched.[3] Within 56 hours of having been released, 9 million posts were made on Google Buzz—approximately 160,000 posts and comments per hour.

Privacy

Some of Google Buzz's features have been noted to have privacy concerns similar to those of Facebook.[7][8] One feature in particular has been widely criticized as a severe privacy flaw: by default Google Buzz publicly discloses (on the user's Google profile) a list of the names of Gmail contacts that the user has most frequently emailed or chatted with. Users who fail to disable this feature (or don't realize that they have to) may have sensitive information about themselves revealed.[9][10][11][12] A recent New York Times article stated that "Google is known for releasing new products before they are fully ready and then improving them over time." Google addressed this privacy issue by changing one of Buzz's features from "auto-follow" to "auto-suggest".[13] This allows users to choose who is following, and therefore, who is able to view their page. These changes to the way that Google Buzz operates[14] have, however, been criticized as inadequate.[15]

Concerns have also been raised that because the mobile version of Google Buzz by default publishes the user's exact location when they post a message to the service, users may unintentionally reveal sensitive locations.[16].

See also

  • Orkut – a social networking site operated by Google since 2004, with over 100 million active members, largely in Brazil and India.
  • Criticism of Google

References

  1. ^ a b Guynn, Jessica (2010-02-09). "Google aims to rival Facebook with new social feature called "Buzz"". LA Times. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  2. ^ Edwards, Andru (2010-02-09). "Google Buzz announced". Gearlive. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Herrman, John (2010-02-09). "Live From Google's February Event: Google Gets Twittery". Gizmodo. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  4. ^ Blog announcement
  5. ^ Helft, Miguel (2010-02-09). "With Buzz, Google Plunges Into Social Networking". NY Times. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Google Goes Social with Google Buzz". Mashable. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  7. ^ Brian Prince (2010-02-10). "Google Buzz Privacy Concerns Similiar to Facebook Issues". eWeek.
  8. ^ Molly Wood (2010-02-10). "Google Buzz: Privacy nightmare". CNET.
  9. ^ Robert McMillan (2010-02-10). "Google Buzz Criticized for Disclosing Gmail Contacts". IDG News Service.
  10. ^ Nicholas Carlson (2010-02-10). "WARNING: Google Buzz Has A Huge Privacy Flaw". The Business Insider.
  11. ^ Kelly Fiveash (2010-02-11). "Google Buzz leaves privacy concerns ringing in ears". The Register.
  12. ^ David Neal (2010-02-12). "Google Buzz is criticized for lack of privacy". The Inquirer.
  13. ^ Miguel Helft (2010-02-12). "Critics Say Google Invades Privacy With New Service". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Todd Jackson, Product Manager, Gmail and Google Buzz (2010-02-11). "Millions of Buzz users, and improvements based on your feedback". Google. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Nicholas Carlson (2010-02-12). "Google Buzz Still Has Major Privacy Flaw". The Business Insider.
  16. ^ Larry Magid (2010-02-09). "Google Buzz Raises Privacy and Safety Concerns". Huffington Post.
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