Google Apologizes for Buzz Problems, Cites Poor Testing
In the week since Google Buzz's launch, there have been a few developments. And by developments, we mean a rather large amount of complaints about how terrible it is. Reports of inbox flooding and privacy concerns have been major issues, prompting a response from Google about all of the negative feedback and publicity that has arisen.
Buzz product manager Todd Jackson spoke with BBC News about the backlash from the release of the social media foray by Google. "We've been testing Buzz internally at Google for a while." said Jackson, "Of course, getting feedback from 20,000 Googlers isn't quite the same as letting Gmail users play with Buzz in the wild."
It certainly isn't. Privacy issues that concerned many people arose from an aspect of Buzz that set user accounts to automatically follow the people with which they communicate most through Gmail. This was simple to do, since Buzz operates from within Gmail (an attempt by Google to make it as easy as possible for users to try it out). However, what if you didn't want that sort of information public? Such a situation could pose serious problems for people like journalists, political activists, and individuals having secret, romantic affairs.
Google is now working very hard to try to come up with changes and fixes to the problems. After a company-wide meeting at their corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California, they came up with some potential changes. Among them were an improved preferences menu that can help users limit what sort of information pops up in their inbox, suggestions for people to follow, an "off" button, and even an entirely separate site for Buzz altogether. Changes that are planned for implementation will surface this week, after extensive testing and translation for the 53 languages that it serves.
Source: BBC News via Gizmodo
