To ask what the general reaction to Buzz was; it is annoying.
Yep, just simple annoyance; this would have been more than enough reason to just ignore the function all together and treat it like that spam folder we never even have to empty out (it trashes anything older than 30 days anyway).
So imagine our surprise to know that Harriet Jacobs, an American woman, suffered from serious emotional harm because of the social networking tool. Why is this different?
The difference here is that when Facebook, Twitter or other social networking tools are used against another person, it is often due to the victim’s own negligence. Your account is your content; that is what would apply here. For Buzz however, you are suddenly put into the middle of the network without even signing up for it.
Believe me; that one page “yes/no” option does not count at all. Had Google given users the benefits of editing default settings right after you press “Yes” (or literally, something more to the lines of: go see Buzz) then it would never have been a problem.
Instead, you are suddenly followed by everyone and following everyone. Not really what you would want since not everyone in our contacts, received from and sent to lists are people we would want to have as online friends. Some are just co-workers, others are acquaintances we sent a needed document to, others can be customer support staff whom we have argued with and others could be vengeful ex-husbands.
That last example was the exact case for poor Ms. Jacobs. All of a sudden, her ex-husband was privy to all the updates she places online.
At least Facebook lets you confirm who you will be connected to.
Read more about Google’s big problems with Buzz at Times Online UK.
