Can it really be just thirteen years since Google’s birth? My, how time flies! Why, I remember when Google was still in its infancy, sucking its thumb and stinking up nappies. But, baby, look at you now!
Welcome to the teenage years, Google. So far you’re doing great with that whole whatever attitude. But don’t think we won’t all know what you’re up to during those hour-long showers!
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When it comes to games, I love Facebook. Except when I don’t. I can’t tell you how many games I’ve started playing there, only to find the game bullying me into spending more and more time (and urging me to spend money as well). Oh, sure, it’s all fun and games at first… then there’s some crop that’s going to wither, or some mission that won’t get completed on time, and I find myself trying to do something away from my computer only to feel myself getting antsy as the deadline approaches.
Screw that.
As far as the social networking thing on Facebook? I love it. Except when I don’t. Having to tweak my privacy settings on what’s starting to feel like a daily basis is irritating. My status updates belong to ME, and it shouldn’t be up to Facebook to decide with whom I’ll be sharing them.
And don’t get me started on the whole Facebook attitude that simply because I “like” a product or page means I want to get their updates in my news feed forever and ever, amen. I shouldn’t have to opt out of those; I should be able to “like” something and THEN have the choice whether I want to keep reading about it every day.
That, by the way, is how I initially wound up with a group of Facebook ‘friends’ that included people who update their statuses constantly, as if Facebook was Twitter, so I know where they’re eating, what they’re wearing, what hand they just used to wipe with, etc. Who cares?
Sure, I can hide all of that… but it’s far easier to simply tune it all out by pretty much ignoring any interactions not happening on my own wall.
Which is why, a mere four hours into it, I am adoring Google+. No, there aren’t any games (so far).
What’s there, however, is exactly what I want in a social network: an easy way to set my privacy levels, and an intuitive means to separate my social circles so I can selectively share information before I drunkenly automatically hit “Share”.
I like that. Or, should I say, I +1 it?
Regardless, if you’re on Google+ feel free to find me. I am, as always, Venomous Kate. (In fact, you can find me here: http://gplus.to/venomouskate)
Quite some time ago, I asked you to contribute a Google-related haiku and you blew my socks off with your witty submissions.
Evidently, you impressed some other folks, too. Now you’re featured at Haiku.com.
Oh, stop smiling now.
Click the link and go visit.
Then hurry back here.
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A 2007 Harris Interactive Reputation study released today says that America’s most trusted company is Google, the ubiquitous search engine with the name that’s since become a verb (much to Google’s annoyance).
According to people who get paid to study this kind of stuff — which I don’t — that level of trust shows that U.S. consumers look beyond mere name-recognition when deciding whether a company is trustworthy.
“Google is the perfect example showing reputation does not correlate with ad spending,” said Robert Fronk, senior VP-senior consultant, reputation strategy, at Harris Interactive. “The positive perception of how you treat your employees, your corporate-social-responsibility efforts, and your products and services and the amount of media that can generate probably trumps any ad spend they would ever want to make.”
In other Google news:
• Today Google is expected to reveal a new method of tracking user clicks to help advertisers better target their ads to coincide with users’ interests.
• Also announced today, Google’s much-anticipated cell phone will be delayed for at least two quarters due to manufacturer’s difficulties programming in Android, the Google-created software the company hopes will revolutionize the cellular industry.
• Publicly available Google local search data is being used in a trial to define pornography, with an attorney arguing that frequent searches for sexually explicit material demonstrates a community’s obscenity standard.
With 81.85% of 27,000 respondents declaring Google as the most trustworthy company, it seems the real news here is how few people understand the word trustworthy.