The Basics Of Google Buzz You Should Know Before Starts Using It

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.

buzz intro The Basics Of Google Buzz You Should Know Before Starts Using It

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.

buzz follows followers The Basics Of Google Buzz You Should Know Before Starts Using It

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.

buzz connected sites The Basics Of Google Buzz You Should Know Before Starts Using It

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’

buzz off The Basics Of Google Buzz You Should Know Before Starts Using It

There are also now Google Buzz tab in setting manu that allow you to hide Google Buzz or completely disable it.

buzz settings The Basics Of Google Buzz You Should Know Before Starts Using It

Comments Box integrate Facebook Connect into your blog

Comments Box is the the first social widget for Facebook Connect unveiled recently. The name is self explanatory, where it works by allowing Facebook user to leave comments using Facebook ID on any blog that integrate this widget onto their blog, without the need to key in name, password and URL.

The first Facebook Connect widget that I install on my previous theme doesn’t last long. But since this is come from Facebook, I still give it a try. To install it, make sure you follow the steps outlined here closely. It require little technical skills, but I can guarantee you that the instruction is pretty straight forward. There are whole lot of other resources in their repository if you can’t get it work.

I can get it works in less than 10 mins. This is how its looks like after I signed in to my Facebook account. When I post some comments, it will appear right at the bottom of the comment box.

facebook comment1 Comments Box integrate Facebook Connect into your blog

If you thick on the ‘Post comment to my Facebook profile‘ check box,  the comments will appear on your Facebook profile as below.

facebook comment2 Comments Box integrate Facebook Connect into your blog

The downside.

All comments are kept in Facebook and not in your blog. If you run WordPress comments oriented plugins such as top commentators, recent comments or most comments, comments won’t be included and counted. It is not even appears on comments admin menu.

However, comments can still be accessed using Facebook’s API (anyone know how?), but that require extra works. I’m still looking how to integrate this widget nicely, of if I should let it there.


How To: Create a Comments Box with Facebook Connect in 5 Minutes from Pete Bratach on Vimeo.

The dark side of social media

Probably you have heard about this before other similar issue in the past.

I watch late news last night when I came across about a married women, who had a problem with social media website. Her photos and personal particulars has been used to register with popular social media such as Facebook & Friendster by someone irresponsible.

To make things worst, the fake profile is spreading racial & faith dislike toward certain communities. And what’s more embarrassing is, it has sexual related services offering as well.

She have logged a police report against it, and hopefully justice can be restored to clear her image. But the damage has been done, and the impact to her life can be prolong.

Incident like this is not the first and definitely not the last to happen. Just be extra careful of what you’re doing online. Do not reveal your personal particular such as phone number, address or email publicly.

One thing to keep in mind, don’t put 100% trust to someone that you know well today. You never know what’s gonna happen in near future.

Google Friend Connect opened to all

When Google Friend Connect is opened to all webmasters, I too wanna be a piece of it.

It reminds me of MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog (most closest), where anyone can join your website/community.

Similar here, members can interact with each other. But the biggest advantage over the 2 services above is, no new registration is required if you already have Google, Yahoo (not working when I tested just now), OpenId or AIM account. Just use that account to login.

It is quite interesting to have another very own community, but for small websites/blogs, it’s not that worthy to put the widget on your sidebar, which adds a couple more seconds delay to your site loading time.

Feel free to join my community. Or maybe I should say, ‘You join my Google Friend Connect, I’ll follow it‘ to gain popularity.

Go here if you end up being confused with what I was talking about.

Linkedin at a glance

linkedin logo Linkedin at a glance

Wanted to tell you all, that I’m now in Linkedin. What? Link Ink? Ling In? Another Facebook or MySpace wannabe my friend said..

No, it is not Facebook-like, where you spend your ‘free’ times with games and applications, or loads and tonnes of photos and waiting someone to leave comments. It’s still a social networking website… but in a way it is more professional. Or they call it professional networking. Wiki can help you understand more.

Why Linkedin?

In Linkedin, you create profile aka resume (personal particulars, educations, working experiences and etc). And start networking (like searching friends in Facebook) with others, get recommendations from your peers/colleagues, business partners and etc. Sounds familiar right..

Recommendation works like complements, where you get someone who has worked with you before to testify on your past performance, normally good one la

Just Like Facebook, there are groups that you can join in. Most of the groups are based on company or alumni.

But the cream of Linkedin is on their Job section. Apart from socializing and building networks, you have the opportunity to leverage your career at the same time. And that’s why you need ‘recommendations’, which build your credibility in the eyes on your peers or even job hunters. The more recommendations the better, as well as who’s the person providing the recommendation.

**Quick search for SAP returns 2 jobs in Cyberjaya

3058944646 e814794d43 o Linkedin at a glance

Not looking for jobs?

For your own good, every opportunities to create visibility on the net or offline, is a ‘necessity’. But, what is visibility?

Taken from dictionary.com, visibility is

degree of exposure to public notice

or the state of being visible

being constantly or frequently in the public view; conspicuous: a visible political position

In plain words, it is how people around you see you, know & recognize what you’re doing. To be visible professionally, you’ll need to have the right place. After all, Linkedin is where professional networking is, and it indeed suits this need.

Here, instead of you’re the one exploring for new opportunities, occasionally, it is good to ‘test the market’ via medium like Linkedin. Let ‘them’ find you.

Linkedin may not be as popular as it is in the US (It is ranked outside of top 100 website in Malaysia), and the jobs available for local market is quite limited. Perhaps it is time to give it a try. Who knows if it can change your life??

I actually wanted to blog about this, but decided to blog it in a different way. My profile. Feel free to connect with me.