Tech News

Hey Google, We’re Not Whiners: Buzz and Privacy

~ katiebonn ~ 3 Comments

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*Image borrowed from SearchViews

A couple weeks ago I wrote about Google Buzz backlash from the context of an overload of information, potentially useless information. Since then I’ve been doing some reading and realize there is a more important issue. Privacy. I’m not referring to the “advertisers are trying to sell me things I’m interested in” kind of privacy issue, but rather the “Google just tricked me into giving my location to the man who is trying to hurt me” kind. Continue reading →

The Buzz about Google Buzz

~ katiebonn ~ 4 Comments

buzz-day

*Image borrowed from Fast Company.

What is it about something as simple as Google Buzz that has shifted the way people think about online social networking? Years back many of my friends were on Livejournal and posting nearly every day. Then there was a shift to Facebook where we could keep up with one another in short, less intimate status updates. Right around the same time, many folks were signing up for Twitter, which got rid of the rest of the crap on Facebook and just left us with 140 character snippets to express parceled thoughts on a whim. Now we have Google buzz and the reaction is different.

Everyone seems vaguely interested, but slightly hostile towards it and definitely hesitant. Like a dog when you change its food and it approaches slowly from afar sniffing the air. The buzz I’ve been hearing about buzz consists of “how can I keep up with one more thing?” and “Alright, we gotta find a way to combine all this stuff”.

So what has changed folks? Have we just reached a tipping point? If so, why does that point seem to be the same for so many people? Did it just take one person to speak up for others to admit they felt the same way?

RAWR! Microsoft Hungry!

~ katiebonn ~ 5 Comments

Today it was announced that Microsoft is offering to buy Yahoo for $44.6 Billion. I am not a financial analyst or highly trained in business, but when I read, “With Microsoft paying a full price for a broken business where there’s not accelerating organic growth, I can’t make that work at all. I don’t see what they get out of it. The strategy behind the deal was wrong.” (Jon Fisher) the first thing that comes to mind is that Microsoft is simply not concerned about purchasing a successful business. They are interested in removing potential competition.

Then I read that “the Justice Department said it is ‘interested’ in reviewing antitrust issues” and realized that I don’t need to be an expert to question the motivations of a monster corporation that’s been scrutinized in the past. (I originally read about antitrust issues in this article, but upon reloading the page I noticed that sentence had mysteriously disappeared. Is that part now deemed unimportant?)

What kind of changes would MS make with their newly acquired toy?
Continue reading →

Facebook Swings and Misses with Beacon

~ katiebonn ~ 3 Comments

After reading the TechCrunch article about Mark Zuckerberg’s 60 Minutes interview in which he said “Beacon makes Facebook less commercial”, I wondered “what is this Beacon and why haven’t I heard of it before?”

I did some checking and decided that while not keeping up with my RSS reader will most definitely keep me in the dark, I shouldn’t have to rely on it to find out Facebook is stalking me on the internet and posting my seemingly private information on their newsfeed. I’ve read that despite the privacy issue Facebook created, they haven’t lost many of their users. Could this possibly be because, like me, there are others out there who didn’t know a thing about it?

True, I’m not rushing out to delete my Facebook account, but I did spend a fair amount of time reading up on the issue and making sure I was opted out in any way I could. If you’d like to do the same, there’s are step-by-step instructions I found on WikiHow.

Strike one, Facebook. Hopefully there are enough internet watchdogs out there to keep you in line ’cause I don’t think I’ll be letting you get up to strike three.

Will Yahoo Lay Off My Husband?

~ katiebonn ~ 2 Comments

Rumors that Yahoo is gearing up to lay off employees that will number in the thousands have been circulating lately. Believe me, we’ve heard about it. Not only from friends and our RSS feeds, but also from Dave’s mom.

I even heard that an Indian newspaper reported there would be 14,000 Yahoos left without a job, but they later retracted that story. I’m not so sure about that one considering a quick search for Indian news sources shows most of them reporting the total number of Yahoo employees at 14,000. Interesting how rumors get all crazy once they’re removed a few steps from their source.

Dave and I could enjoy a good game of telephone to determine our fate, but personally I’d prefer to just wait and see. Will we be packing up and moving back to Minnesota dejected and vowing to never leave again? Not likely. But don’t be surprised if you hear about me knocking on a little wood.