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Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

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Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#71
post #51
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but will Google be any better? Any legitimate complaints that I've heard are either something we're resolving or is an inherent problem that any social networking site will face." I would argue that Google will be better because it's clear they've made privacy the most important part of their offering. By making circles one of the topmost items, they take something that most…

I'll say one thing about Circles... Google doesn't really have any social users yet. Facebook, to implement Circles as it exists in Google now, will have to retrain their users . Not an easy feat. The concept of a quick pivot to add new features or markets is silly. If your users expect you to do it the old way, you'll face a long uphill battle.

Circles are nice, but not a game changer. People are on Facebook because of features. They are on Facebook because of people.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#72

My opinions are my own and I can't speak for Facebook as a whole (or in any capacity, really, which is why this will forever remain an anonymous post). I think Google will gain some traction initially, but what we're working on in my group is light years ahead of the Facebook you see and use today, and probably not the same direction that Google is (or can be) heading. Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but wi…

at the end of the day, all your profile are belong to us. That one line was enough to convince me to delete my Facebook account again, once and for all. Thank you.

Why did you expect anything else from either company? By profile they really mean data. Every company out there offering free services is after your data and it definitely belongs to them since they have the context for it. Your name and number and interests by themselves don't mean anything but put a context around it and that is what belongs to them.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#73
So far Google+ is rather boring. Probably cause I only have 9 people on there and no one is posting anything other then their new profile picture and a test post. Other then that it's been quiet. Meanwhile on Facebook where I have many more "Friends" it's business as usually, same number of post etc.

I'm sure it'll take a long time for Google to catch up, I just don't see most people moving to Google+.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#74

My opinions are my own and I can't speak for Facebook as a whole (or in any capacity, really, which is why this will forever remain an anonymous post). I think Google will gain some traction initially, but what we're working on in my group is light years ahead of the Facebook you see and use today, and probably not the same direction that Google is (or can be) heading. Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but wi…

At the end of the day, I wonder if it really matters what Facebook does. Once Google gets everyone on Plus then that omnipresent black bar will be at the top of every Google site, constantly sucking you back in with alerts of what's happening in your social stream. People will de facto head to Plus whenever they search, check finance, check their Gmail, look at their calendar, etc. Ultimately, it's going to be hard f…

Don't worry, the US DOJ Antitrust Division will soon be to your rescue.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#75
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Like others, I question whether this guy actually works for Facebook, but the "all your profile are belong to us." has done it's damage, because while perhaps you don't work there, it's highlighting a culture I know to be there. You're more likely to be a google+ team member, simply genius!

You got me, I'm a google+ engineer. I don't always pretend to work for Facebook... but when I do I'm an arrogant prick.

Well played.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was thinking the same. Fuck any company with that level of lock-in.

I take it you don't use gmail as your email provider then?

Actually, I do, but I do it by redirecting mail to my DNS to my gmail account. If I change provider, I don't need to tell everyone my new email address.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#77
post #65
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you misinterpreted the parent post. It's saying not saying that Facebook Groups is the same as Google Circles, it is saying that both Facebook and Google+ have the group functionality (in the sense of Unix groups - ie, grouping users for access restriction purposes). In Facebook it is called user lists.

@nl: I thought he was talking about user lists at first too, but he kept talking about groups, so I tried addressing both. You can see it in my reply. But just to be sure, I had attempted to use user lists in the same way to restrict posting out and I was not able to. Further, I reiterate: Google+ does not work like Unix groups. It works like Livejournal friend filters. The groups are relative to whatever you define…

I was replying to this:

There's a persistent myth that Facebook Group is the same as Google+ Circles.

I don't think that myth exists at all - I've never seen anyone say it until you brought it up. The parent post used the word "groups", but didn't specify they meant "grouping people" as opposed to the Facebook group functionality.

Further, I reiterate: Google+ does not work like Unix groups

Again - no one is claiming that. I used Unix groups as an analogy (because they let you group people together).

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#78

So far Google+ is rather boring. Probably cause I only have 9 people on there and no one is posting anything other then their new profile picture and a test post. Other then that it's been quiet. Meanwhile on Facebook where I have many more "Friends" it's business as usually, same number of post etc. I'm sure it'll take a long time for Google to catch up, I just don't see most people moving to Google+.

I don't know about that. I've been extremely reluctant to connect with my parents or anyone in my family on facebook, just because of all the possible social clashes that may occur once they have access to my profile. I don't think I'm alone in this situation and I feel that many people, like me, would really welcome an environment where they can truly and safely connect with the different people that color their lives.

Facebook has taught us a lot of lessons about having an online social life, but it appears to me that it hasn't learned much from us in return, other than what it wanted to learn. G+ feels to me like a second chance to get it right with better tools. To be honest, I would have no problem letting my facebook profile go stale, while I rebuild a better profile with G+. Something that prevented me from leaving facebook behind in the past was that there was no alternative. Now, I can gladly tell people "I'm outta here, if you wanna find me, I'm at G+", exactly like I did when I abandoned my hotmail account for gmail.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#79
post #77
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@nl: I thought he was talking about user lists at first too, but he kept talking about groups, so I tried addressing both. You can see it in my reply. But just to be sure, I had attempted to use user lists in the same way to restrict posting out and I was not able to. Further, I reiterate: Google+ does not work like Unix groups. It works like Livejournal friend filters. The groups are relative to whatever you define…

I was replying to this: There's a persistent myth that Facebook Group is the same as Google+ Circles. I don't think that myth exists at all - I've never seen anyone say it until you brought it up. The parent post used the word "groups", but didn't specify they meant "grouping people" as opposed to the Facebook group functionality. Further, I reiterate: Google+ does not work like Unix groups Again - no one is claiming…

"I don't think that myth exists at all - I've never seen anyone say it until you brought it up."

Fair enough.

Re: Anyone working at Facebook: what happening at Facebook on Google+?

#80
post #19

My opinions are my own and I can't speak for Facebook as a whole (or in any capacity, really, which is why this will forever remain an anonymous post). I think Google will gain some traction initially, but what we're working on in my group is light years ahead of the Facebook you see and use today, and probably not the same direction that Google is (or can be) heading. Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but wi…

"Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but will Google be any better? Any legitimate complaints that I've heard are either something we're resolving or is an inherent problem that any social networking site will face." I would argue that Google will be better because it's clear they've made privacy the most important part of their offering. By making circles one of the topmost items, they take something that most…

"Yes, we've had our stumbles with privacy, but will Google be any better? Any legitimate complaints that I've heard are either something we're resolving or is an inherent problem that any social networking site will face." Wow -- this is nothing but a big swig of FB koolaid.

There's a huge difference in the way that Facebook and Google look at privacy and data ownership. And I think that difference comes from the founders of each company and has become firmly embedded in each company's DNA.

The difference has a name: Mark Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg is an obviously amoral individual who has a history of violating other people's privacy (e.g. breaking into their email accounts) and who believes that all personal information should by default be public. He also has stated that freedom of speech is culturally relative, in a repulsive attempt to curry favor with the Chinese government. Contrast that with the bold stand that Google took when the Chinese government demanded that the company acquiesce in their repression of Chinese citizens.

Unlike FB, Google doesn't have a history of constantly changing privacy policies and making it very difficult to preserve privacy. And unlike FB, Google doesn't make it virtually impossible for a user to export the data that lives in their various services. In fact, provision of plans for export is a key requirement for Google products.

Google: don't be evil. FB: eh, who cares -- we're talking about making money here.

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