On following…
Posted on February 12, 2010
Filed Under Society and culture, Uncategorized | 2 Comments
The other day, I noticed a new link in gmail. I am of course, talking of Google ‘Buzz’* : some facebook-esque, tweeterish thing that seems to have invaded the previously stark-and-therefore tranquil space that was my gmail account.
If only that was all.
Unfortunately being somewhat of a cat my curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the link. Imagine my surprise to find that, not only had some hapless folks been forced to follow me for updates that I will write with a probability of precisely ZERO, but that – get this – I was already following quite a few people myself.
I was FOLLOWING people, people. Like, without having done anything. Without ever having asked google to notify me of the mundane events in the lives of other people, google has decided that on the occasions that these same people find themselves with absolutely nothing better to do than to fire up gmail to type sweet nothings at the world, it will let me know.
Can you TELL what I think of all this? Huh? Can you f$#(%@#%#$% TELL?!!
My immediate reaction when I see a ‘follow me!’ link or similar is, WHY? If there’s a concrete answer, then fair enough. As an example, I will “follow” people on SC sometimes… but for goodness sake: these people are actually creating something. Crafting something that could actually teach, uplift or enlighten me. Their followers might even help them to make their creations better, with feedback and constructive critiques. But 9 times out of 10, on most purely social media sites, such ‘follow’ links or buttons are there mainly to support a voyeuristic noseying into the lives of people far too free with their own information for their own good.
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*all of which begs the question: did Wave fail, or something?
Tenuously Linked (blame my tagging):
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2 Responses to “On following…”
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I figure Buzz is the misguided followup to Wave that, instead of being offered to you, is simply included with your Gmail.
My problem with both of these efforts, however, is that the list of people I’ve Gmailed (or been Gmailed by) over the years is NOT the same as a list of people I desire to social network or collaborate with. I’m not sure why Google would assume these are the same thing.
re “I’m not sure why Google would assume these are the same thing.”
Because they’ve lost the plot. This is what happens when Geeks (who, as one book would have us believe, are now “the most sociable people” on the planet), are left to ‘run tings’.