Rant facebook v google+

[Ch3tan]

Incredibly frustrated with both.

I was quite happy until maybe a year ago with facebook. The privacy controls were actually very good if you bothered to look into them, very customisable. Now however they are over simplified and don't allow you the control you need to really be private.

What is worse is the constant changes to layout that change the content you are delivered. It's very annoying being given updates you don't want and having to change everything to get what you want again every 3 months or so.

Google+, so promising, nice simple interface, easy privacy controls between groups of friends. But, and this is the big one. You can't make your name and main profile page private, some elements are always shared with the entire web, so your profile would appear in google search results if someone searches your name.

I really wish someone would come out with a service that actually cared about user privacy and kept things simple.

 

[PLightstar]

Still undecided about Google+ its a good layout but its still lacking in features. The recent update to the layout of FB is pretty bad, don't see what was wrong with the old one. It just looks like a mess. Unless theres a massive shift of my mates to Google+ then FB will be my main Social network site.

 

[dysfunction]

Google+, so promising, nice simple interface, easy privacy controls between groups of friends. But, and this is the big one. You can't make your name and main profile page private, some elements are always shared with the entire web, so your profile would appear in google search results if someone searches your name.

I really wish someone would come out with a service that actually cared about user privacy and kept things simple.

"Search Visibility" in google+ switched off should prevent search engines from finding your profile...

 

[Ch3tan]

I deleted my google+ profile because it doesn't allow me to make my profile fully private. It's as if google learned nothing at all from their buzz mess.

 

[Ch3tan]

"Search Visibility" in google+ switched off should prevent search engines from finding your profile...

Nope, your name and status, along with the main photo bar are still visible.

Give it a try, you can disable that setting, yet still see it.

I've deleted it now, so I can't tell you which button to press to check it...

 

[Raven]

Lots of people spamming my facebook page moaning too. I haven't had any problems with privacy on mine, everything is still hidden...

Not interested in google+ either.

 

[DaGaffer]

Google+ isn't getting traction; lots of people signed up, fuck all using it.

 

[Ch3tan]

"Search Visibility" in google+ switched off should prevent search engines from finding your profile...

Here you go Dys, I disabled search visibility a couple of days ago.

Yet if I google search my name, I get this as the top result.

https://profiles.google.com/115757939692883628250/about

It takes up to a day for my google+ profile to be deleted apparently.

 

[Raven]

Says "this person does not have a public profile and has not shared any information with you"
The picture is blank too
Shows your name though, but I would need to know that to search for it

Sure its not cached on your machine or something?

 

[Ch3tan]

Nope, I've deleted my profile now. The picture was never there, but it's impossible to make your name and that page (even with everything hidden) from showing. There is no option to make yourself hidden completely.

 

[Job]

What's with all this hiding? Got something to hide yourself boy?

Notes name and sexual/political preferences..files under subversive.

 

[- English -]

If facebook wasnt so good for being nosy on peoples lives i'd have left along time ago. I rarely update anything on it anymore.

 

[Raven]

I would rather speak to people on the phone or in the pub than on facebook. I find the whole thing to be pretty pointless.

My wife uses my facebook more than I do so that she can send herself crap on farmville.

 

[caLLous]

Whatever happened to Diaspora? Did it fizzle out or are they still working to get it to a ready state? Last I heard was about a year ago when somebody put a lot of cash up to get them up and running...

 

[Kahland]

Facebook ftw, f*ck security. The only reason i use facebook is to spy on other people. No joke, no trolling.

 

[caLLous]

Got the email from fb the other day saying they are going to be sending less email. I had already gone through and told it to pretty much only contact me if somebody sends me a private message (because I, too, hardly ever actually update my page or use facebook in any real way) and now I log in and see that I have a few messages and guess what, it didn't contact me.

The last time facebook was good was before they introduced applications.

 

[CorNokZ]

Facebook ftw, f*ck security. The only reason i use facebook is to spy on other people. No joke, no trolling.

You disturb me.. Seek help

 

[Zenith.UK]

"Search Visibility" in google+ switched off should prevent search engines from finding your profile...

Had that off since day 1 and my profile still shows up in ego surfing.
What bothers me is that I've locked it down as much as I can, hidden the people in my circles and made my info viewable by my circles only. Yet when someone egosurfs my name, they not only get my (minimal) profile, but can see who have added me to their circles. By deduction, you can work out it's me. Thankfully, there are a number of people with my name, a couple of them are well known. You have to get to page 12 of search results before you get a link that is definitively me.

What's with all this hiding? Got something to hide yourself boy?

Notes name and sexual/political preferences..files under subversive.

Yep!
I go to great lengths to make my "real life" hard to find online. The nastiest one is 192.com who have put up electoral records, even if you're opted out of the edited list. You need to make a declaration in writing to get them to remove anything to do with your surname at your address.


You won't find me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. G+ is fast losing it's sparkle. To be brutally honest, unless G+ gets more going for it in the near future, I'll probably be deleting my profile. I hardly use it, and even with the settings locked down, it's still to "open" for my liking. What are you supposed to do with social networking when you're inherently unsociable?

 

[old.user4556]

I and my peers are much enjoying the cleaner, crisper, better mobile app Google+.

However, there are some glaring issues with G+

- lack of a 'wall', it's more like Twitter just now. I know you can tag people in post to make it private between the two of you, but it doesn't feel right.
- lack of events. I understand that's coming along with Gcal integration. That would be awesome.

Google+ is also way, WAY better than Facebook for photographs. It's more like Flickr and it doesn't fuck up your compression and doesn't re-size them in a wanky way.

 

[caLLous]

Facebook is about to get "even better".

 

[TdC]

how'd you delete your profile Chetbacon? I wants out too.

 

[Ch3tan]

Go to to account settings I believe, make sure you only delete your g+ profile, or it will delete your entire google profile (mail etc) too.

Big G; I agree about the photos and the cleaner interface, but googles approach to privacy is worse than facebooks, which was bad to begin with.

The worse thing about the new facebook changes. Photo's you are tagged in, your tags are now visible to anyone who can view that photo, so friends, of friends of friends. The new sidebar for updates, it shows your friends any action you make, even if it wouldn't previously have shown in the news feed.

 

[Ch3tan]

Facebook is about to get "even better".

Some of those changes are quite good, however they need to remember that a large portion of the user base probably just want a simple tool to keep up with friends.

 

[Ch3tan]

Whatever happened to Diaspora? Did it fizzle out or are they still working to get it to a ready state? Last I heard was about a year ago when somebody put a lot of cash up to get them up and running...

Triple post madness!

This is exactly what I am looking for, hope it actually launches.

NYDtv’s Exclusive Interview With New Social Networking Site, DIASPORA* « NYDtv blog

 

[PLightstar]

What are you supposed to do with social networking when you're inherently unsociable?

Kind of in the same boat, use Twitter mainly for following progress of game developers etc and not for the social aspect.

 

[Lamp]

*wears a black armband for the hand-written letter*

 

[Zenith.UK]

Got a notification on my phone this evening, "<Some person> has tagged you in an album on Google+", with a button saying "Approve or remove this tag".

WTF?!?

Looking at who was doing the tagging, it's an acquaintance of my wife. I have no other link with her at all. Then the realisation hit.
She had added me to her circles without asking me, without my authorisation.
I ignored her in notification, denied the tag, blocked her and finally deleted my profile. Google had a page asking why I was deleting my profile, so I told them exactly why.

Fuck that shit. I'm not having any old munchkin who feels like it adding me to their list without MY okay.

 

[Ch3tan]

Today facebook sent me an email telling me they would be sending me less email. This is even though my settings have all emails disabled in facebook.

Facepalm.

 

[Ch3tan]

I've got my Diaspora invite.

You should all sign up https://joindiaspora.com/

More first impressions later.

 

[Ch3tan]

Also, Deebs, I think you should host a Diaspora server: https://github.com/diaspora/diaspora/wiki/Installing-and-Running-Diaspora