buzz
OK, I'm going to say that I actually like Google Buzz. Or at least the idea of it, if not the entire implementation.
I get that their initial way of seeding followers was idiotic, but I'm not sure I understand all the reactions I'm seeing that really sound kind of paranoid.
You can set privacy options to prevent the general public from seeing your full name, who follows you, who you follow, or any of your shared items.
You can even set privacy levels on individual items, specific feeds, and you use your Google contacts groups to set those privacy levels.
In other words, it's very easy to allow only specific people to see your shared items, and no one has to know who's following you or who you're following, except the people you're actually following - they'll know you're following them, but not who else you're following.
And as far as I can tell, after the initial bizarre seeding from people you've emailed recently, Google isn't going to automatically have you follow anyone you don't explicitly follow yourself.
I get that not everyone is going to find the service useful, but I really don't get all the fear I'm seeing.
I get that their initial way of seeding followers was idiotic, but I'm not sure I understand all the reactions I'm seeing that really sound kind of paranoid.
You can set privacy options to prevent the general public from seeing your full name, who follows you, who you follow, or any of your shared items.
You can even set privacy levels on individual items, specific feeds, and you use your Google contacts groups to set those privacy levels.
In other words, it's very easy to allow only specific people to see your shared items, and no one has to know who's following you or who you're following, except the people you're actually following - they'll know you're following them, but not who else you're following.
And as far as I can tell, after the initial bizarre seeding from people you've emailed recently, Google isn't going to automatically have you follow anyone you don't explicitly follow yourself.
I get that not everyone is going to find the service useful, but I really don't get all the fear I'm seeing.