Commentary

Google Buzz Blowback, Part Two

deflated buzz logo

I never thought I'd say it, but: poor Google! The search giant, so easy to loathe for its overwhelming dominance of search marketing, burned its paws with its misguided introduction of its new social tool, Google Buzz. Now it is learning that recovering from this kind of misstep is a tricky, difficult process -- and thankless, did I mention thankless?

A quick review: in early February Google introduced Buzz, a new social network integrated with its popular Gmail service which gives users an "easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links." The mistake was that Google automatically set users up to follow the people they email and chat with the most, thus exposing private information to the world -- who they've been talking to.

This predictably blew up in Google's face, and although the company moved quickly to scrap the automatic following feature, the last three months or so has been spent in damage control, as the company faces several lawsuits and unwanted attention from Congress and Federal regulators. Whoops. Now Google is trying to dig itself out from this mess with a new, extra-transparent "reset" of the Buzz feature. But the reset is just going to cause Google more grief.

Google is definitely doing the right thing with the reset, which involves asking everyone to check their Buzz account and confirm their current privacy settings. There were serious concerns about user privacy and, in addition to scrapping the automatic following feature, this is a necessary step for setting those concerns to rest. But there is really no upside to Google's actions at this point: it's a bitter cup and the company is drinking the dregs.

First of all, the much-publicized reset is just going to remind users of the initial screw-up, refreshing the sense of grievance against Google and further tainting Buzz in the eyes of potential users. If I had to guess, I would imagine Buzz will lose more users as a result of the reset, rather than gain them. Second, the reset won't do anything to placate critics in Congress or consumer privacy advocates: the opposition to Google is based partly on unrelated political or business issues, and now that the search giant has given its rivals a cudgel to beat it, you can bet they aren't going to give it up that easily.

Last but not least, the reset reminds everyone that Google has violated its core doctrine -- and no, I don't mean "don't be evil." Google's whole schtick is convenience, based on an intuitive grasp of how people use the Web, what they want, and how that can be made easier. The reset is the exact opposite of the Google mission: an unnecessary, totally avoidable hassle which would be irrelevant to most users except for the fact that Google has forced them to pay attention to it, against their will. With apologies to Seinfeld, it almost seems like this is the work of Bizarro Google, the company's evil twin from an alternate universe.

The thing that must really stick in Google's craw is that the goal of this whole painful process is to get right back where they started -- basically, the best possible outcome for all their labor is to have everyone forget that it ever happened. And it must be especially aggravating to realize that it all could have been avoided if they had been a little more cautious when introducing their new product. Hopefully they will keep that in mind for the next one.

2 comments about "Google Buzz Blowback, Part Two".
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  1. Mim-woo Kim from I&IWorld, April 6, 2010 at 1:47 p.m.

    What a wonderful Google Apps? Google Latitude + Google Ocean = Real-time Fishing LBS Contents

    Have you heard about Real-time Fishing LBS Contents? We have proposed this Service Model to Google over 4 years ago. Real-time Fishing LBS Contents is Location Based Service for IPTV, WiMAX, Mobile. This Service Model was created in 2002 by I&IWorld. I&IWorld's located in South Korea. As you know, there're many people enjoy fishing in the world(about 5 hundred million). I&IWorld's Real-time Fishing LBS Contents is like these.

    *Main Functions*
    1.The underwater topography and 3D views with fishing spots
    2.Real-time fishing points tracing by GPS and angling direction guide
    3.Service the real-time fishing condition about fishing place(weather, water temp, depth etc)
    4.Angler Social network(such as Second Life)

    Everyone knows that Google motto is, 'Don't be evil.' Is it all right? Visit http://www.koreacontent.org/weben/index.jsp, and type 'Real-time Fishing LBS Contents'. Search http://www.koreacontent.org/co/i/iiworld/index.html. If you need more information, please send your email address.

  2. Julia bassett Schwerin from Maine Market Monitor, April 10, 2010 at 7:08 a.m.

    Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...private information is just too compelling for Google to quit manipulating it.

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