Google Buzz was a social networking, microblogging and messaging tool that was developed by Google and integrated into their web-based email program, Gmail.^[1][2] Users could share links, photos, videos, status messages and comments organized in "conversations" and visible in the user's inbox.^[3]

On October 14, 2011, Google announced that it would be discontinuing the service and that the existing content would be available in read-only mode. Buzz was discontinued on December 15, 2011.^[4][5]

Buzz enabled users to choose to share publicly with the world or privately to a group of friends each time they posted.^[6] Picasa, Flickr, Google Latitude, Google Reader, Google Sidewiki, YouTube, Blogger, FriendFeed, identi.ca and Twitter were integrated. The creation of Buzz was seen by industry analysts as an attempt by Google to compete with social networking websites like Facebook and microblogging services like Twitter.^[1] Buzz also included several interface and interaction elements from other Google products (e.g. Google Reader) such as the ability to "like" a post.

Google executive Sergey Brin said that by offering social communications, Buzz would help bridge the gap between work and leisure,^[7] but the service and its rollout were strongly criticized at the time for taking insufficient account of privacy concerns.^[8]

Platform[link]

In May 2010, Google revealed APIs for Buzz, expanding it to being a platform as well as a service. This allowed third-party developers to write software that would be able to both read and post content to Buzz. Several partners demonstrated integration via the new APIs, including Seesmic and Socialwok.^[9]

Mobile versions[link]

When the service was accessed with a supported mobile device, Buzz tagged posts with the user's current location. Users were only permitted to use the actual physical location reported by the device for their Buzz posts; unlike the Google Latitude location-sharing service, Buzz did not allow users to manually specify an arbitrary location.

The mobile version of Buzz integrated with Google Maps so users could see who was around them. Buzz posts made through Google Maps were public, and could be seen by anybody else who was using the software. In addition to text, mobile users' posts were able to include an uploaded photo. Platforms supported were limited to devices running Android 1.6+, iOS, Windows Mobile, Openwave, and S60.^[3]

History[link]

Google Buzz was announced on February 9, 2010, in a press conference at the company's Mountain View headquarters and launched on the same day, at 11 a.m. PT for the first set of users.^[10] The feature, available from the Gmail inbox, was rolled out to Gmail accounts in the following weeks. A mobile version of the site optimized for Android phones and Apple's iPhone was also launched,^[3] while a version for businesses and schools that use Google Apps was only planned.^[11] Within 56 hours of its release, 9 million posts were made on Google Buzz — approximately 160,000 posts and comments per hour.^[12]

On October 14, 2011, Google announced that Google Buzz would be shut down together with the Buzz API "in a few weeks", in order to focus on Google+ instead. Bradley Horowitz, Google's Vice President, Product, explained the ramifications, "While people obviously won't be able to create new posts after that, they will be able to view their existing content on their Google Profile, and download it using Google Takeout." He also said, "We learned a lot from products like Buzz, and are putting that learning to work every day in our vision for products like Google+".^[4]

It was discontinued on December 15, 2011.

Privacy[link]

At launch, Google's decision to opt-in its user base with weak privacy settings caused a serious breach of user information and garnered significant criticism.^[13] One feature in particular that was widely criticized as a severe privacy flaw was that by default Google Buzz publicly disclosed (on the user's Google profile) a list of the names of Gmail contacts that the user has most frequently emailed or chatted with. Users who failed to disable this feature (or did not realize that they had to) could have sensitive information about themselves and their contacts revealed.^{[14][15][16][17]} This has since been adjusted so that users now have to explicitly add information that they want public.^[18]

Google Profiles existed before Buzz and could be set by the user to be public or not. After Buzz was released, the last name field was required to be non empty, and profiles set not to be indexed became indexed for a profile search.^[19]

A 2010 The New York Times article stated that "Google is known for releasing new products before they are fully ready and then improving them over time."^[20] Google has twice tried to address privacy concerns: first by making the option to disable public sharing of contact lists more prominent^[21] and later by changing one of Buzz's features from "auto-follow" to "auto-suggest".^[22] This allows users complete control over whom they follow, and, therefore, who is revealed on their public list of contacts. These changes to the way that Google Buzz operates have, however, been criticized as inadequate^[23] and the company has been criticized for failing to take its users' privacy concerns seriously.^[24]

Among other initial problems, users who had never created a Google profile had no way to make their list of contacts or other information private, which resulted in a high-profile case involving information about a woman's current workplace and partner being shared with her abusive ex-husband.^[25]

Concerns have also been raised that because the mobile version of Google Buzz by default published the user's exact location when they posted a message to the service, users may unintentionally reveal sensitive locations.^[26]

Legal issues[link]

On February 16, 2010, Eva Hibnick, a student at Harvard Law School, filed a class action lawsuit against Google, alleging that Buzz violated several federal laws meant to protect privacy.^[27] On the same day, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Google Buzz "violated user expectations, diminished user privacy, contradicted Google's privacy policy, and may have violated federal wiretap laws."^[28]

Also on February 16, 2010, the Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote "These problems arose because Google attempted to overcome its market disadvantage in competing with Twitter and Facebook by making a secondary use of your information. Google leveraged information gathered in a popular service (Gmail) with a new service (Buzz), and set a default to sharing your email contacts to maximize uptake of the service. In the process, the privacy of Google users was overlooked and ultimately compromised."^[29][30]

On February 17, 2010, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, issued a statement on Buzz:

We have seen a storm of protest and outrage over alleged privacy violations and my office also has questions about how Google Buzz has met the requirements of privacy law in Canada...My office has a variety of resources available to help companies build privacy into their products and services. When companies consult with us at the development stage, they can avoid the problems we've seen in recent days.

—Jennifer Stoddart^[31]

On November 2, 2010, Google e-mailed Gmail users to tell them about the outcome of the lawsuit. As part of its settlement, Google will create an $8.5 million fund to award money to groups that promote privacy education on the web, of which the prosecuting lawyers are requesting 25% ($2,125,000) "plus reimbursement of costs and expenses".^[32] The settlement was finally approved in June 2011.^[33][34]

On March 30, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Google regarding Buzz. In the announcement, the FTC agreed with the EPIC complaint that Google had violated its privacy policies by using information provided for Gmail for another purpose - social networking - without obtaining consumers’ permission in advance. The FTC also alleged that Google misrepresented that it was treating personal information from the European Union in accordance with the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor privacy framework. The FTC stated that "The proposed settlement bars the company from future privacy misrepresentations, requires it to implement a comprehensive privacy program, and calls for regular, independent privacy audits for the next 20 years." In response to the announcement that Google has agreed to adopt a "Comprehensive Privacy Plan", EPIC launched a campaign, called "Fix Google Privacy", to encourage Internet users to offer their suggestions to improve safeguards for Google's products and services.^[35][36]

Reception[link]

Both the general and technical press has been critical of Buzz and the manner in which it was implemented. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation described Buzz's arrival as having "ignited a hailstorm of criticism". CBC indicated "One user blogged about how Buzz automatically added her abusive ex-boyfriend as a follower and exposed her communications with a current partner to him. Other bloggers commented that repressive governments in countries such as China or Iran could use Buzz to expose dissidents".^[8]

PCWorld’s JR Raphael criticized Buzz for both its intrusive nature and privacy concerns, citing above all that it merely adds "more noise into an already buzzing area of my life". Raphael provided users with a step by step tutorial on how to disable Buzz.^[37]

Ryan Paul of Ars Technica noted "there isn't much in Buzz that is new or original" and "the end result is a service that shows promise but lacks the requisite killer feature or innovative twist that it will need in order to truly keep people engaged."^[38]

See also[link]

• Comparison of microblogging services
• Criticism of Google

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikinews has related news: Google introduces Google Buzz

• Google Buzz Official Website
• Homepage for the Google Buzz class action suit on Archive.org

This article may contain improper references to self-published sources. Please help improve it by removing references to unreliable sources, where they are used inappropriately. (December 2008)

Jeff Jarvis
Jeff Jarvis at the 2008 World Economic Forum.
Born	(1954-07-15) July 15, 1954 (age 57)
Occupation	Journalist, College Professor, Show host

Jeff Jarvis (born July 15, 1954) is an American journalist. Previously he was a television critic for TV Guide and People magazine, creator of Entertainment Weekly, Sunday editor and associate publisher of the New York Daily News, and a columnist on the San Francisco Examiner.

Career[link]

Jarvis was president and creative director of Advance Internet, the online arm of Advance Publications. He currently consults for Advance Internet. He has also consulted for the New York Times Company at About.com, where he worked on content development and strategy. In 2006 he became an associate professor at City University of New York's Graduate School of Journalism, directing its new media program.^[1] He has a fortnightly column in the MediaGuardian supplement of the British newspaper The Guardian.

In 1974 Jarvis was an undergraduate at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University when he was hired by the Chicago Tribune. Jarvis first began his career in journalism writing for the Addison Herald-Register, a weekly newspaper, in 1972.

He was one of the first to report on the aftermath at the World Trade Center attacks, having just arrived on the last train from New Jersey as the first plane struck. Instead of running to safety, he chose to stay, talking with survivors and making notes, until he was caught up in the maelstrom of the South Tower falling. The experience was what spurred him on to his new "career" as a blogger.

Jarvis is the creator of the popular weblog BuzzMachine, which tracks developments in new media and chronicles some of the author's personal obsessions, such as the fortunes of radio host Howard Stern. He gained national notoriety when he wrote about his negative experiences in dealing with Dell Computer's customer support system on the website.

He is a co-host on This Week in Google along with Leo Laporte and Gina Trapani, a show on the TWiT Network which covers cloud computing and social networking.

Jeff Jarvis, 2008.

In 2009, Jarvis wrote a book called, What Would Google Do? In the book, he discusses how companies can become successful like Google, and talks about how Google, and other top websites, such as Facebook, Craigslist, Wikipedia, and Digg, have changed the business model. He gives advice on how companies can copy Google's success, and how other successful companies have already done so, such a Dell and Apple.^[2]

In 2011, Jarvis published, "Public Parts: How Sharing in the Digital Age Improves the Way We Work and Live," in which he defends the openness of the Internet, discusses ways in which the Internet has made modern life public, and argues against regulations to protect privacy. "Public Parts" was reviewed scathingly by fellow internet scholar, Evgeny Morozov, in the November 3, 2011, issue of The New Republic.^[3]

Politics[link]

Jarvis describes himself as "a liberal: a centrist leaning left," claiming to have voted for Democrats in most elections. Nonetheless, he notes that he upsets some Democrats for not always agreeing with them and for linking to those with whom they disagree. Jarvis says that is why he likes the blogosphere so much: because it allows him to talk with people whose opinions do not align with his views.^[4] Jarvis also describes himself as "a post-9/11 hawk."

Personal life[link]

On Monday, August 10, 2009, Jarvis announced on his blog that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The cancer was detected at an early stage and was subsequently treated by robotic surgery. He was pronounced "cured" as the cancer was contained in the prostate and had not spread to other organs. His very public revelation and reporting of his condition was (according to Jarvis) aimed at encouraging others to, in his words "I also hope to be one more guy to convince you men to get your PSA checked: a small mitzvah in return for my luck."^[5]

Publications[link]

• What Would Google Do?, New York: Collins Business 2009, 272 pages, ISBN 0-06-170971-9.
• Public Parts, New York: Simon & Schuster 2011, 272 pages, ISBN 1-4516-3600-8.
• Gutenberg the Geek, Amazon 2012, 20 pages, ASIN B007EI62I0.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Jarvis

• BuzzMachine.com
• Jeff Jarvis on Twitter
• Jarvis' audio account of his personal experience of the attack on the World Trade Center
• The World Trade Center Tragedy: An eyewitness account, Jarvis' written account of 9/11
• BusinessWeek podcast with Jarvis, about Recovery 2.0, September 2005
• Jeff Jarvis, On the Inside, Blogging Out, Washington Post article, May 2005
• Corante.com interview with Jarvis in The Future of Digital Media series, November 2004
• Criticism of Jeff Jarvis' credentials as "Web Guru," by Ron Rosenbaum, Slate, Nov. 11, 2008
• Cover story about Jeff Jarvis as a "Web Guru," by John Koblin, The New York Observer, Nov. 25, 2008
• Conversation with Jeff Jarvis, Intruders tv, May 5, 2009 Video
• Interview in Italian, Il Sole 24 Ore
• Interview with Jeff Jarvis: Social Media Challenges International Organizations by Joerg Wolf, Atlantic Community

This article has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the talk page. (March 2012)

Kevin Rose
Born	(1977-02-21) February 21, 1977 (age 35) Redding, California, United States[1]
Nationality	American
Website
kevinrose.com

Kevin Rose (born Robert Kevin Rose, February 21, 1977) is an American Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk. He also served as production assistant and co-host at TechTV's The Screen Savers. He is currently a senior product manager at Google.

Early life[link]

Rose was born in Redding, California^[1] and lived in Oregon before his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he spent most of his childhood. He became an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.^[2] Rose transferred to Vo-Tech High School in Las Vegas in 1992. He then attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, majoring in computer science but dropped out in 1998.^[3] He worked for two dot-com startups through CMGI.^[1]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Rose was hired as a production assistant for The Screen Savers. He began appearing on-air, in "Dark Tip" segments, and on Unscrewed with Martin Sargent where he provided information on developing computing activities. He became a regular co-host when Leo Laporte left TechTV on March 31, 2004. On March 25, 2004, Comcast's G4 gaming channel announced a merger with TechTV which resulted in a round of layoffs. Rose moved to Los Angeles to stay with G4. On May 22, 2005, Rose reached an agreement with G4 that released him from his contract and went on to create Systm and later, Revision3, where he co-hosted Diggnation alongside Alex Albrecht for 6 years.

Guest appearances[link]

Kevin Rose appeared on the first episode of R&D TV alongside Diggnation co-host Alex Albrecht.^[4] On November 14, 2007, he was a contestant on a game show at NewTeeVee Live.^[5] On March 11, 2009, April 16, 2010, and November 28th, 2011, Rose was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon along with fellow Diggnation host Alex Albrecht.

Podcasting[link]

Rose began podcasting on July 24, 2003, with the release of the first episode of thebroken while he was still working on The Screen Savers at TechTV. Rose founded Revision3 in Los Angeles, California with Jay Adelson and David Prager in April 2005.^{[citation needed]} On July 1, 2005, Rose and Alex Albrecht started the weekly podcast, Diggnation, which summarizes top stories submitted by Digg users. On October 3rd, 2011, Alex and Kevin announced that they would be retiring the weekly Diggnation show at the end of the year. The final show was taped on December 30th, 2011 at The Music Box in Los Angeles, California.^[6][7]

Startups[link]

In 2004, Rose, Owen Byrne, Ron Gorodetzky, and Jay Adelson formed Digg, a technology link website. The website was publicly launched on December 5, 2004.^[3][8] In 2007, he was named to the MIT Technology Review TR35 as one of the top 35 innovators in the world under the age of 35.^[9] On September 1, 2010, Rose was replaced as CEO^[10] by Matt Williams, a former general manager of consumer payments at Amazon. On March 18, 2011, Rose resigned from his position at Digg.^[11][12]

On June 27, 2007, Rose launched a micro-blogging site named Pownce^[13] which was acquired by blogging company Six Apart and shut down not long after. In April 2011, the technology blog TechCrunch reported on the founding of "Milk".^[14] The company is focused on creating mobile applications. The first application to be released was Oink, a tool for ranking real-world items.^[15] In March of 2012, Milk, Inc announced that it would be shutting down Oink in order to focus on other offerings.

Google[link]

On March 16th, 2012 Rose announced that he, along with the rest of the Milk team (Daniel Burka, Chris Hutchins & Joshua Lane), would be joining Google.^[16] Kevin Rose started his first day as a senior project manager for Google on March 19, 2012.^[17][18] On May 30, AllThingsD reported that Rose had moved off the Google+ team to become a venture partner at Google Ventures. ^[19]

Investments[link]

Rose invested in Gowalla, Twitter, Foursquare, Dailybooth, NGMOCO, SimpleGeo, 3crowd, OMGPOP, Square, Facebook, Chomp and Formspring.^{[20][21][22][23]}

References[link]

External links[link]

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• Kevin Rose's Official Site
• Kevin Rose at the Internet Movie Database