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Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

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Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#131
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

The user, however, doesn't know the consequences of subverting the form.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#132

When are people going to just shut up about this stuff? Google is going social. Either get with it or don't. I'm tired of seeing rants everytime they decide to try something new out (by the way, this was a test for less than 1% of their users). If you don't want to participate in Google's social network, you don't get to participate in Google's social network. That includes YouTube and it has for years . Downvote awa…

The only reason that I have a Gmail address is that it is not blocked by spambots and it is a bit of a defacto standard. I had a Facebook account in 2006, but deleted it after they let you sign up with a non .edu address. Back in the day the point of Facebook at college was to organize activities and share pictures with people I personally knew. Strangely enough most students did not want people (or employers) seeing drunken party pictures of them, but Facebook wanted to expand and the coolness of college was the PERFECT way to leach out to everyone else.

TL;DR I am a facebook hipster. Facebook isn't cool anymore.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#133

> It is bad for viewers, bad for video creators, and bad for YouTube’s ability to curate and tailor videos to potential viewers. First, a question: any random person on the internet, without being logged in, used to be able to Thumb Up a YouTube video? If that's true, then I bet it was very easy to spam. Giving it a Thumb Up, without being logged in, would also mean that none of your friends had any idea that you had…

A lot of news sites allow voting without being logged in, as well as in the comment sections.

Business Insider, the largest business site, allows it (Quantcast #235).

It's premised on the notion that for 99.999% of people, they're not going to bother going through any amount of hassle to bolster votes artificially. It works, it's not worth the time or effort to game content and comments that are modest in traffic and throw-away in nature. The only way it's worth gaming, is on front pages like Reddit where there's a massive simultaneous concentration of traffic.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#134

> It is bad for viewers, bad for video creators, and bad for YouTube’s ability to curate and tailor videos to potential viewers. First, a question: any random person on the internet, without being logged in, used to be able to Thumb Up a YouTube video? If that's true, then I bet it was very easy to spam. Giving it a Thumb Up, without being logged in, would also mean that none of your friends had any idea that you had…

You can't thumb up on Youtube without a Google Account (which is not exactly the same as a Google+ account).

And, I already get the +1s (or thumbs up, or whatever it's called) of the people I follow on Youtube, in my Youtube stream. And I do like things there. On the other hand, sharing ? I'd think twice before doing it.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#135
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

i really can't think of any company on the internet who botched and ruined everything they had more than myspace. i still don't even think they're trying to improve their product yet.

Digg's probably the only other example I can think of.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#136

Youtube used to be a demilitarized zone in the social wars. Every social network uses Youtube as their default video provider, every cell phone OS has a Youtube app as the default video app. Google saying that Youtube is now, fundamentally, a G+ territory means that social video is no longer something we can take for granted; expect Facebook and Apple to jump ship, and Youtube is left with, what, only the loyal G+ us…

Very true, I often dread "upgrades" or "redesigns" to software or websites that I like using. Everything seems to now be adding hoops that you have to jump through.

This is why I often prefer things that I either have to pay for or that are OSS because then at least I feel like I have some of influence in the relationship.

I dread the day that google slap a login page up in front of their search engine service.

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#137
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

i really can't think of any company on the internet who botched and ruined everything they had more than myspace. i still don't even think they're trying to improve their product yet.

[deleted]

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#138

Google thinks it will die in the long run without social. They realize that all the tech-savvy software product in the world can be reproduced eventually, but secondary, human-savvy products, can never be reproduced. Furthermore, they see the power in adding ever more context to search - see Bret Victor's talk about how 'interaction' is bad, and inferring context is everything. There's no better context than social.…

I haven't seen a convincing argument that Google needs social. I know they believe it, I just haven't seen anything that made a compelling case that it's actually true.

> I haven't seen a convincing argument that Google needs social.

"pictures of Dan's wedding" "those backpacks John keeps talking about" and "where the fuck are my car keys" are all queries that require people-data in order to dereference whom you're talking about

Re: Google is making a huge and annoying mistake

#140
Stop using Google! You know its a company that spies on your every move, you know they are selling your information to governments, you know they are constantly IN YOUR FACE everywhere you turn on the net these days.

They are even worse than Microsoft was back in the days, when Google came along with a clean search engine and a clean slate. These days, "dont do evil" is as ridicolous as Obamas "Change!" campaign.

Google is a strong supporter of CISPA as well. Whats left to like in this company? They make a good browser and good apps, but its not worth what they are doing to their customers.

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