STAFF EDIT: Google fail

As Google continues to reign supreme on the Internet, the blogosphere is abuzz with criticism each time it releases a new virtual product.

Rightfully so.

When Google released Google Buzz on Feb. 9, Internet-savvy web browsers and tech-nerds alike bonded over their hatred for the newest tab on their GMails, calling it a privacy nightmare, citing glaring issues left and right.

Buzz, Google’s latest effort to jump in on the world of social networking-turned-virtual stalking, was initially revealing the email addresses of those its users frequently contacted after a main yes-or-no click with minimal fine print or details. While the product, which Google refers to as an “application,” aims to track and publish the Google activity of its users (i.e. GChat status updates, Picasa uploads, Blogspot posts) much like a cross between Facebook’s newsfeed and Twitter, users were shocked to see their private GMail contacts being revealed.

And while Google listens when the Internet complains, and has since changed the privacy settings of Buzz and added a clearer opt-out, Google should have been able to recognize the little potential and/or value this product has at all. And almost forcing it on its GMail users by adding a mysterious “Buzz” button beneath “Inbox” on the day of its release was certainly not the way to get Google users hooked.

For a company that is usually at the forefront of technological advancements, applications and ideas, Google has been striking out lately, especially as it continues to “reinvent” the already tried-and-failed features on other sites. Remember Facebook’s Beacon application (perhaps a great-grandfather of Google’s Buzz), which broadcast purchases elsewhere on the Internet to one’s newsfeed? No? Exactly.

Google should stick to inventing, not reinventing. Usually, popular products are so because they work. They don’t need new, added ideas or bonuses, and they certainly do not need to be made more complicated. Honestly, has anyone ever read the public timeline on Twitter or user comments on YouTube? Most of the Internet’s everday addicted users are among the dumbest people to roam the Earth. Why complicate features or add more ideas to a pretty simple concept, or pollute Google’s mostly clean image with the more common annoyances of the rest of the web?

We’d lecture Internet users to be more conservative with their clicking and more conscientious about their virtual signature on privacy agreements, but it’s obvious from the lack of understanding of elementary grammar that most of the users are hardly capable of doing so. Instead, it should be up to the geniuses that work at Google to create innovative, addicting applications while protecting their users. But just in case there is someone out there capable of dissecting an online contract, don’t put all your eggs in one basket and continue to be skeptical, even when it comes to some of your favorite, more trustworthy websites. You really don’t need your boss to know you’ve been GChatting his wife &-&- even if it really is about the surprise she has planned for their anniversary next month.