h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yesterday, Google announced a new social aspect to Gmail along the lines of Facebook. It will allow Gmail users to chat, post status updates, links, pics and videos.

What it doesn't have (so far) is inane quizes and games designed to farm for marketing information.

So, basically, it sounds like facebook without farmville.

http://buzz.google.com

Any opinions?

No opinion yet... They seem to be rolling it out slowly - I don't actually know anyone with a G-Mail account who's actually got access to it yet.

>New posts and comments pop in as they happen. No refresh required.<

That sounds handy. Could do with that here.

I was prompted about it for the first time today. I think I'll give it a miss.

I logged into it yesterday, but there's not much to see yet other than its design. I played around with facebook for a few months but really didn't like it. I'm thinking this will be more to my liking.

Not impressed at the way it was introduced. I was reading mail when I got the following pop up alongside the mail box:-

"Buzz is a new way to share updates, photos, videos and more as well as starting conversations about the things that you find interesting. You're already set up to follow the people who you email and chat with the most."

I don't like the fact they've already set things up to follow people or for people to follow me whenever I do any e-mailing. That's what it looks like. I have found the settings and 'disconnected' from the networks as they call them. I don't want my e-mail contacts, business or private, followed by any tom, dick or harry thank you. If this Buzz thing ends up as another Facebook in drag then frankly I'm not interested anyway. In the blurb it goes on to say that Picassa photo albums, googlechat and google reader activity will automatically show in Buzz as ongoing activity.
I don't think so, I've changed public settings to private. Again, I'll be the one to decide what goes public and what doesn't.

Yea, privacy was my main concern with facebook, definitely an important issue.

I'm not sure that the default setting is on. But I can't really tell

Google can be evil sometimes. Pity they make such good product at other times.

Well if it is Facebook without the farmville....

But then isn't that "twitter" which I already infinitely prefer to Facebook.

FB

It's relatively easy to make your Facebook page private, and to stop all that farmville stuff showing up.

Are people likely to use FB and BUZZ?

Don't think so - plus it appears to have some privacy issues (as mentioned upthread)

http://charman-anderson.com/2010/02/11/google-buzz-not-fit-for-purpose/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31322_3-10451428-256.html

Thanks for that Rockhound...

Until I've had the time to play with it properly and discover just what it's publishing... I think the best button available is the "Turn off Buzz" link at the bottom of the main GMail page.

yep, just used that button, didn't realise it was auto-on, ain't even looked at it till I read the above.

So that's where it is hiding? I haven't turned it on, but understood that that's what is does automatically, and anyway, I don't want to risk setting it off by clicking on the buzz link.

Off to push that button now

oh no, mass button pushing - someone check the door and make sure lil isn't ing anywhere!

Thanks for that information. I'm not keen on stealth tactics like that, I would never have noticed any of that without this thread.

Oh no! just did the button push - then noticed that I had been signed out. Re-entered my password, but just get error messages.


It wasn't me! But I think it's broke...

Oh, google doesn't seem to take it nicely that people turn off their shiny new feature. It happened to me, too, lanza. I clicked that button, then the whole page just went blank. No sign out butoon, nothing. I hit the back arrow a few times, signed in again and was told the account was opened in one other location, at IP xxx

Oh, and I'm grateful for this thread because I wouldn't have known about it otherwise.