Google Buzz release has receive outrages respond from Gmail users, particularly concerning the privacy setting. Without account owner consent, Google Buzz has automated most of ‘social’ task that should be handled by human, instead robot or process.
After numerous blog posts and tweets, Google Buzz on it’s latest update has overcome most of these concern, especially disabling the process of adding friend and update from other sites automatically.
To me, Google Buzz biggest mistake is arise from their assumption of 3 things.
- Automating the process of adding followers/following in order to provide different experience of social website.
- All activities in other Google services such as Google Reader, Picasaweb should be made visible to other people in Gmail contact.
- The contact that we email or chat most is our closed friends, that should stay updated with the update or activity from us.
Like most of you, I’m too very new with Google Buzz, but here are 4 essential things you should know before starts using Google Buzz.
1. Google Buzz integration with Gmail
Gmail, with 174 millions user is the perfect place for Google Buzz. If you have never use Google Buzz before, when you’re opening Gmail, just before you see your inbox, you’ll be greet with Google Buzz message. This seems to be the screen whether you’re agree to use Google Buzz or not, but apparently, even if you’re not interested and click ‘Nah, Go to my inbox’, you still have Google Buzz at your sidebar.
2. Followers and following – No More Autofollow
- Followers and Following refer to the people that follow your updates and the people you’re following to. When Google Buzz was first introduced, the contact that you chat and email the most will follow you automatically (and you follow them as well), even before you agree using Google Buzz.
The problem with this is, they’re not necessarily the people you want to follow, when they might be your co worker, business partner or etc. And since they’re following you, or you’re following them, they’ll be able to view your profile which suppose not to be seen by them.
Good thing is, Google has disabled auto follow. Instead of auto follow, Google Buzz will use auto suggest model, which suggesting people that you should follow, also based on the people that you chat and email the most.
For existing Google Buzz users, you have to unfollow the contact that you have no intention to follow you or to be followed manually. To prevent the ‘unfollowed’ contact from following you again, ‘block’ them to permanently block this contact from following you.
3. Connected site
Connected site is other Google services that connect to your Google Buzz, so any updates or shared items will be updated into Google Buzz.
Before this, Google automatically connect Google Reader And Picasaweb into Google Buzz, which means any activity (that visible to public) happens there will be updated to Google Buzz as well. To block this update, either the connected site being removed or the sharing option at Google Reader and Picasaweb being turned off respectively.
Now, Google Buzz no longer showing any activity from Google Reader and Google Buzz automatically. However, existing Google Buzz users have to remove these sites or change shared setting from ‘Connected Sites’ menu for Picasaweb, but for Google Reader, it has to be modified from within Google Reader.
4. Turn off, hide or disable Google Buzz
To turn Google Buzz on and off, browse to the bottom of Gmail, and you can see the option to ‘turn on buzz’ or ‘turn off buzz’
There are also now Google Buzz tab in setting manu that allow you to hide Google Buzz or completely disable it.
