From a privacy point of view, Google was already perfectly able to connect the dots of what all its users did on its services long before Plus: single sign-on was perfectly sufficient to do that. Having plus doesn't make it any easier or more difficult. So, technically, Google could already have collected all those data and sold them to the advertisers before plus.
What I hope that Google will guarantee, related to G+, is a complete control over which of those dots can become public; if G+ is an identity service (whatever that might mean) I want to have control over what I show of my identity and to whom. Something where I'm willing to cut some more slack to Google than to Facebook, given their track records, but not so much more.
* Something where I'm willing to cut some more slack to Google than to Facebook, given their track records, but not so much more.*
I'm on the fence about that. So far I've given Google the benefit of the doubt. But it's quite plausible the evil bit will flip, so prudence tells me to start now weaning off Google services and diversify.
I was willing to cut Google slack than other companies. But they exhausted that slack supply when they cut-off their own ex-employees for using well-established pseudonyms.
The concept of an "identity server" is unacceptable for any idea of freedom. I might hate the US government but I do hypothetically have some democratic rights in exchange for the DMV being the current "identity server" in this region. For any private entity to say "you must give me your stuff and I hope to keep it secret" without me having any leverage over them is ... (excuse my repeating)... unacceptable.
I don't think it's just google+. I noticed my gmail account logging me into youtube yesterday. I've avoided opening a google+ account so as to avoid that kind of thing from happening, I have remained logged out of my gmail account since.
I don't like this one bit. I was on Youtube and noticed I was logged in. Then when I logged out on a "Video Sharing Site", I was logged out of my "E-Mail Program" that was open in another tab too. I was scared for a second that a public Youtube profile had been made from my gmail-address, so people can view my last log-ins. I also looked, to no avail, at a way to disconnect my personal Gmail-account from Youtube.
I will miss the personalization. But for me this too will mean less browsing while logged into Google services. It is not the same scale like Spotify requiring a Facebook account, but it is close enough to make me cringe and worry about my favorite online services.
Scared the shit out of me as well and I absolutely hate it.
The sad thing is: There would be an easy solution to solve this trickery. Just giving Firefox a right click option. Not "open in new window", not "open in new tab" but "open in clean (aka cookie free) window".
With I had the coding skills to realize that. Or is there already something similar out?
I was a but creeped out when they automatically logged me in to youtube. After I found out there was no way to log out of youtube without logging out of Google Reader and Gmail, I am checking my RSS feeds and email a lot less. There should be an option to opt out, it's ridiculous.
i love the absolute shit of gmail, and im in this situation where i am willing to pay for it to not bother me to with g+ youtube.
I do not want to go back to thunderbird but gmail is creeping me more and more. The best part is i recommended it to all my friends and stood on googles side on more then one occasion.
Is there a space for a startup that will make a gmail alternative. There is toons of saas startups but none in this space.
I signed up at http://diasp.org for a Diaspora account a couple of weeks ago. It's noticeably not quite finished but it seems to work well enough. It now has enough of my friends on it that it's worth going there now and again. Diaspora often seems to attract bad vibes on HN but I'm hoping it'll take off.
I am certain the next step will be when they use Google+ "likes" (or whatever) to determine page rank. I, for one, find it troubling how much Google can dictate the success of a web based business.
I think its time to de-couple ourselves from providers like Google, facebook, twitter. I for one am not very comfortable in getting into a 1984 situation!
This is the next logical step. Most people are already performing social and stream worthy actions all over google properties, it makes sense for them to provide users with a public forum for their display.
Although I'm still not sure google has easy route to mass collection of the holy grail of social content: photos.
I started keeping separate browsers for my gmail,FB accounts and the rest of the web.
I signed up on Gmail to use the email, not for my identity management/profile for other things (say ad targeting). Google should let us choose disconnect our gmail, google+, youtube accounts.
Well, I can imagine google linking +1 with likes on Youtube, like/share/star On google reader, star on google groups and so on.
If so, it will also make google plus a lot more useful, as your interactions on Google+ already affect, in a positive way IMHO, your Google search results.
Google, from another view, is trying to standardize on one id(google+) across all it's systems. It makes their data mining results better hence better targeted ads. Wonder when they will announce that Buzz is dead
I'm a fan of G+. However, I wrote a post about this about three months ago (http://hubski.com/pub?id=2069), and I still feel the same way.
IMHO, this is not only going to change the nature of Google, but in the end, it will change their definition of innovation. -When every product is wrapped in social, it changes what every product can be.
I had exactly the same reaction. G+ woke me up to just how much information one company had about me and how dishonest they were willing to be about the reasons for their policies surrounding that information.
Rather than G+ driving me into Google's arms it drove me out.
[+] [-] danmaz74|14 years ago|reply
What I hope that Google will guarantee, related to G+, is a complete control over which of those dots can become public; if G+ is an identity service (whatever that might mean) I want to have control over what I show of my identity and to whom. Something where I'm willing to cut some more slack to Google than to Facebook, given their track records, but not so much more.
[+] [-] jamesbritt|14 years ago|reply
I'm on the fence about that. So far I've given Google the benefit of the doubt. But it's quite plausible the evil bit will flip, so prudence tells me to start now weaning off Google services and diversify.
[+] [-] joe_the_user|14 years ago|reply
The concept of an "identity server" is unacceptable for any idea of freedom. I might hate the US government but I do hypothetically have some democratic rights in exchange for the DMV being the current "identity server" in this region. For any private entity to say "you must give me your stuff and I hope to keep it secret" without me having any leverage over them is ... (excuse my repeating)... unacceptable.
[+] [-] eliasmacpherson|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] blauwbilgorgel|14 years ago|reply
I will miss the personalization. But for me this too will mean less browsing while logged into Google services. It is not the same scale like Spotify requiring a Facebook account, but it is close enough to make me cringe and worry about my favorite online services.
[+] [-] stfu|14 years ago|reply
The sad thing is: There would be an easy solution to solve this trickery. Just giving Firefox a right click option. Not "open in new window", not "open in new tab" but "open in clean (aka cookie free) window".
With I had the coding skills to realize that. Or is there already something similar out?
[+] [-] pontiacred|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] anedisi|14 years ago|reply
Is there a space for a startup that will make a gmail alternative. There is toons of saas startups but none in this space.
[+] [-] Joeboy|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] darasen|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] avallark|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ashrust|14 years ago|reply
Although I'm still not sure google has easy route to mass collection of the holy grail of social content: photos.
[+] [-] rmrm|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] naner|14 years ago|reply
Also this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/30/us-internet-securi...
[+] [-] csmt|14 years ago|reply
I signed up on Gmail to use the email, not for my identity management/profile for other things (say ad targeting). Google should let us choose disconnect our gmail, google+, youtube accounts.
[+] [-] superuser2|14 years ago|reply
What did the author think that button was for?
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] binaryorganic|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DanielRibeiro|14 years ago|reply
If so, it will also make google plus a lot more useful, as your interactions on Google+ already affect, in a positive way IMHO, your Google search results.
The privacy implications are enormous though.
[+] [-] yalogin|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pestaa|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] markkat|14 years ago|reply
IMHO, this is not only going to change the nature of Google, but in the end, it will change their definition of innovation. -When every product is wrapped in social, it changes what every product can be.
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] wnight|14 years ago|reply
It's funny, I thought G+ could be the social network to replace FB and now it looks like I'll probably leave Google to avoid it. Weird.
[+] [-] jamesaguilar|14 years ago|reply
This seems fantastically unlikely (one might say FUD-ish) given their numerous public statements to the contrary, e.g. in this article: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/google-revises-google-r...
[+] [-] danmaz74|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cageface|14 years ago|reply
Rather than G+ driving me into Google's arms it drove me out.
[+] [-] shithead|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shithead|14 years ago|reply
Hey, Larry Page, read my lips:
No one wants Big Brother watching their every move, forcing a single ID on mail, maps, search, videos, blogs, etc.Asses may well just have signed the Google death warrant.
[+] [-] rmrm|14 years ago|reply
They have long had account integration across properties.
What they have never had was very much of a functional integration across properties.
[+] [-] RyanKearney|14 years ago|reply