With the proliferation of social media, there has been one topic that shows up time and again. That’s privacy. We have seen major privacy issues and user complaints with Facebook and location-based services like Foursquare. The latest in the mix is Google with its Buzz service. 

Buzz, not unlike Twitter, is a microblog that is integrated into user’s Gmail inboxes. It was clearly an attempt compete with Twitter, however it was met with lackluster results over the fact that it is very plain, only accessible through the Gmail web interface and the face that it is enabled by default for all users. I am one person who used it very briefly after launch and quickly gave up, realizing I had no idea what all the buzz was about. Google wanted to capitalize on the product by allowing users to post updates that were more than a mere 140 characters.

Today, long time Gmail users who were involved with Buzz since the beginning have gotten an email from Google about the settlement of a class action lawsuit (email is posted below).

The long and short of it is that the lawsuit was filed shortly after the launch of the product by users concerned about their privacy. Google has settled with an $8.5 million fund going to an independent fund supporting organizations promoting privacy online. Google has also pledged to do more to educate users about the privacy controls that pertain to buzz.

Here is the email that went out to users this evening:

Google rarely contacts Gmail via email, but we are making an exception to let you know that we’ve reached a settlement in a lawsuit regarding Google Buzz (http://buzz.google.com), a service we launched within Gmail in February of this year.

Shortly after its launch, we heard from a number of people who were concerned about privacy. In addition, we were sued by a group of Buzz users and recently reached a settlement in this case..

The settlement acknowledges that we quickly change the service to address users’ concerns. In addition, Google has committed $8.5 million to an independent fund, most of which will support organizations promoting privacy education and policy on the web. We will also do more to educate people about privacy controls specific to Buzz. The more people know about privacy online, the better their online experience will be.

Just to be clear, this is not a settlement in which people who use Gmail can file to receive compensation Everyone in the U.S. who uses Gmail is included in the settlement, unless you personally decide to opt out before December 6, 2010. The Court will consider final approval of the agreement on January 31, 2011. This email is a summary of the settlement, and more detailed information and instructions approved by the court, including instructions about how to opt out, object, or comment, are available at http://www.BuzzClassAction.com

This may not apply to everyone and there will certainly not be compensation for everyone. However, this is a clear sign that companies are taking privacy seriously.

February 14th - Weekly Wrap Up #2

On the line up this week is

1. Google BuzzC
2. Canon T2i DSLR
3. Google as an ISP
4. Myspace CEO steps down

What we have learned recently is that breakthrough technologies named after sounds are wildly successful. That is why so many people are not only “Tweeting” anymore. Many of us are also “Buzzing.”

What is Buzz? It’s Google’s, appropriately named, answer to Twitter. How does it work? Buzz is enabled on your Gmail account and gives you a sort-of second inbox. It looks similar to a regular inbox until you start following more and more people and text and pictures start populating. Then it looks a little more like Twitter.

So what’s the difference? 

• It’s all in place. You now have your Gmail and your buzz feed all on one screen. This works for people who use Gmail.com to send and receive emails. If you’re a MS Outlook/Apple Mail/etc user then this is another webpage you have to keep open (until the proliferation of desktop clients).
• There’s no character limit. If there is, it’s significantly higher than 140 characters. Whether this is good or bad, remains to be seen. 140 characters is very limiting and depending on the intent of the message, it could be crippling. But there is something to be said for 140 characters. In a world of real-time information dissemination, short snippets and bite-sized (byte-sized?) updates make for an easier time keeping up. If each person is writing a 500 word article like this one, then it’s back to emails again right? The character amount remains to be seen.
• It integrates with Twitter. My Buzz account has all my buzzes and tweets in one spot. Since it is a Google product and sits inside the Gmail homepage, it integrates with your contact list. Anyone on your list with Buzz, is now part of your buzzlist. No individual following. MSN users or outside domain users… not sure what happens to you. I suppose it’s time to move to Gmail.
• So, what’s wrong with it? It’s boring. It is a plain, which, non-customizable interface without any options besides searching for contacts that have chrome and updating. There is a difference between being feature-rich, feature-laden, and feature-burdened. This is feature-missing.

It is the first iteration and is still getting rolled out to people so there’s no telling where it will end up. It is innovative in the sense that it’s part of Gmail and doesn’t need to be refreshed. It will attract the Gmail user who doesn’t want to be a part of social networking as an added piece of their web surfing day.

Is it a Twitter killer? Probably not. Think about it. Tweets and Buzzes - Birds and Bees. Maybe their integration is key to populating information across the digital world.