Email, Privacy and Buzz

I am trying to understand the buzz about Google's BUZZ. People are complaining about its alleged violation of privacy. Me is thinking. Google email, gmail, is free. Gmail is not a package deal that comes with a subscription that you pay for. To use it you agree to the Terms of Service, usually referred to collectively as the Terms. Have you read the Terms?

Along the line there is one little paragraph that reads as follows:

"8.4 You understand that by using the Services you may be exposed to Content that you may find offensive, indecent or objectionable and that, in this respect, you use the Services at your own risk."

By the way, your content is also Content. You do get what you pay for. Now, Google does take your privacy seriously, they have to. Quite simply, their whole business model rests on their ability to guarantee your privacy. That said, when they introduce a new service, it often is far from being optimized and perfected, so as the rule of development goes, shit happens.

The thing is, when you get all excited about Google's latest gadget and you can not wait to use it, you are taking a risk, and it is a risk that you agreed to take. Google is being google, it is developing and experimenting with a general purpose technology in the field of communications.

Personally, I would be a blundering idiot if I did use only Gmail. I use Gmail, and I like the features in Gmail, however some clients have their spam filters so tuned that all gmail ends up in spam. Guess what, both for private and professional reasons, I have other email accounts. Does this remind you of something from the past? Remember hotmail? Remember yahoo mail? They are still all around... let somebody else explain that one.

Calm down, google's buzz is brand new and it is up to you to decide what risks you want to take. If buzz is not for you, do not use it, there is a nice convenient little "turn off buzz" at the bottom of your inbox. It is that simple. But... hey, curiosity killed the cat. It still does.