Google is making a huge and annoying mistake • Hacker News Board

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#101

Post by sp332 » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:01 PM UTC

pitchups wrote: post #82

nextparadigms wrote: post #45

In the beginning people complained that Google has like a dozen different "Like" buttons on the Reader, Youtube and so on. Now they complain that they want to use just one everywhere? I think it's a great move. Personally, I even want them to integrate their G+ commenting system into all their services. It's one of the best commenting systems out there, and certainly much better than the Youtube one. It might even en…

It is a question of semantics and word choice really - pretty sure that if they had said "Login with your Google Account" instead of "Upgrade to Google+", the reaction would not have been as negative. All that the Upgrade to Google+ does is tie your Google account to Google+ - you don't have to follow anyone, post anything or fill out any details of you profile. So they could have just called it : We are tying / conv…

In order to get a Google+ account, you have to give them a lot more information than you do to just get a normal Google account. And you have to use your real name or they'll disable you entire account - including email etc.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#102

Post by mbreese » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:01 PM UTC

idleloops wrote: post #76

I wish these things were decentralised. Somewhere in my browser there should be settings to set up my 'like' service, and the same for sharing and blogging and a whole gamut of activities. Plus a simple way to switch between these, and turn them off. I have a real hatred for the merging of Google services - and I'm not even sure why. I think it's because it just feels like the erosion of my privacy. I've become someo…

It used to be that it was all decentralized... you managed all of this stuff with bookmarks/bookmarklets. If you liked something, you'd bookmark it. If you wanted to share your bookmarks, you'd use a site like del.icio.us and their bookmarklet. Nice and neat.

And then sites began adding the bookmarklet code directly to their pages. Which seemed like a good idea - until they had to add a button for everyone's favorite service. And then they had 10-20 buttons on each page, each using javascript to call a remote service on the backend. And then it wasn't such a good idea... so we started to see consolidation.

I miss my old bookmarklets.

(and get off my lawn).

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#103

Post by petercooper » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:03 PM UTC

Does YouTube share playlist popularity for videos? I've been using YouTube since the early days and have several thousand videos in my "Favorites" folder yet have almost never used the thumbs up/down (I don't see a direct benefit). If I've dumped a video in my favorites for watching again later, that should carry more weight for what WW wants likes for.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#104

Post by MaysonL » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:03 PM UTC

jmsduran wrote: post #97

nextparadigms wrote: post #45

In the beginning people complained that Google has like a dozen different "Like" buttons on the Reader, Youtube and so on. Now they complain that they want to use just one everywhere? I think it's a great move. Personally, I even want them to integrate their G+ commenting system into all their services. It's one of the best commenting systems out there, and certainly much better than the Youtube one. It might even en…

> "It might even encourage better comments on Youtube." I don't think the move to G+ will affect Youtube comment quality at all.

Just imagining what will happen when all the Youtube commenters start posting to G+ boggles the mind.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#105

Post by Bud » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:09 PM UTC

joejohnson wrote: post #34

This is annoying, but how is it a huge mistake on Google's part? Sure, they're going to annoy a few people, but I think that these tactics forcing people to use G+ will probably work. People will be forced onto this G+ platform whether they like it or not; the mass exodus threats about any social networking platform never materialize into anything more than a few users deactivating their accounts.

Oh really? You mean like when everyone over age 12 threatened to leave Myspace as soon as there was something better, and then they did?

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#106

Post by ajross » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:10 PM UTC

adamc wrote: post #99

ajross wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normal users don't get "pissed off" like that. There's no requirement to "use" G+ to have a youtube account. They just click "OK" and continue using youtube as before. You (and the author of the linked blog) have a bone to pick with Google, which is fine. Just recognize that most people don't care. There's nothing objectively more difficult about youtube now that it's linked to G+, ditto gmail, etc...

On what do you base that astounding assertion?

Uh... masklinn was self-admittedly "pissed off", Will Wheaton "made a rageface" and posted "go fuck yourself, Google"., I paraphrased those both to "bone to pick" because I thought it sounded better.

What is "astounding" about that? They sound like synonyms to me. Do you have an argument with the substance of what I wrote (regarding average users' reacions to youtube merging accounts with G+)?

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#107

Post by amirmc » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:11 PM UTC

adamc wrote: post #100

amirmc wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my take on things but happy to hear other views. Google (and Facebook) are advertising based so try thinking about it in terms of how well they know their users. The better they know their users, the more specifically they can target ads to them. For example, if I wanted to reach 20-somethings, who really like pizza and motorbikes, travel widely and currently reside on the west coast, FB can put ads in front…

I have to say that it sounds like an excellent reason to drop gmail and move away from google products. I don't _want_ advertisers to know more about me.

In which case, you'd probably want to move away from any advertising based services.

I think it's important to realise that the advertisers don't necessarily know about you. Google/Facebook do and they're the ones who provide the 'filtering' service for folks who want to place ads in front of certain groups.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#108

Post by jmsduran » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:12 PM UTC

sp332 wrote: post #101

pitchups wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is a question of semantics and word choice really - pretty sure that if they had said "Login with your Google Account" instead of "Upgrade to Google+", the reaction would not have been as negative. All that the Upgrade to Google+ does is tie your Google account to Google+ - you don't have to follow anyone, post anything or fill out any details of you profile. So they could have just called it : We are tying / conv…

In order to get a Google+ account, you have to give them a lot more information than you do to just get a normal Google account. And you have to use your real name or they'll disable you entire account - including email etc.

Even with those safeguards, it is still possible to create a phony/spam G+ account. Asking for more information doesn't solve the problem, it simply forces the user to fabricate more information in the beginning during the sign up process.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#109

Post by masklinn » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:14 PM UTC

NickPollard wrote: post #94

masklinn wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what is the point of a 'like' button? Feedback to the author, and crowd-rating for people you don't know. What do you think the point of HN's up and down arrows are?

Ok, I understand that. My issue is the conflating of approval with sharing. In this case, the problem is that people without G+ cannot voice their approval. This is obviously a deliberate ploy to coerce people into joining G+, but motives aside the issue is that Google are forcing people to share when perhaps, some only want to approve. As people have noted, whilst the frictionless sharing is good for viral marketing…

Ah yes, I had mis-understood the purpose of your question, sorry.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#110

Post by sp332 » Wed, May 02, 2012, 5:16 PM UTC

jgroome wrote: post #42

G+ is a joke. Nobody outside of the tech and geek industries either wants it or uses it. And yet they carry on doing everything they can just to herd people into creating G+ accounts. Hey, it might work. Got to get those numbers up, right? But they can't make me USE my G+ account.

Any page with a +1 button on it reports your visit back to Google. Even if you don't push the button! So now Google can mine your browsing history for advertisers.