Google's Breaking the Internet?

Plussed 4 Comments , , , ,

I think someone's got their knickers in a knot over a couple of things that aren't technically G+/Google's fault, here.

1) If you quote someone else's work, you should attribute it, full stop, regardless of the platform you share it on. On social media networks, it can get a little tricky to share links and do proper attribution. One of my favorite tools is the bit.ly extension available for FireFox and Chrome. (And possibly IE, but seriously, why are you still using that? Stop it.)

[Bit.ly for Chrome, shared using the Bit.ly extension. Bit.lyception! Here: http://bit.ly/xCJzml ]

[Bit.ly for FireFox, here: http://bit.ly/xl0G2R ]

On the rare occasions when I'm posting an excerpt of an article to a social network but not using the embedded link feature that goes along with Facebook or G+ (like the embedded article below), I use Bit.ly to link to the article I'm quoting. It makes a short, tidy URL, as opposed to the giant-assed thing you copy and paste out of your browser's address bar.

To link to a person, I either use Bit.ly, or I use G+, Twitter, or Facebook's built-in linking system – + the person's name on G+ or @ the person's name on Twitter and Facebook. (No spaces between the + or @ and the beginning of the name, of course.)

Attribute when you quote, folks, and make your quotes and excerpts as obvious as possible. It's only polite.

2) Google has been catering your search results to your personal tastes for quite awhile – since well before G+ was a thing. I log out and clear my browser cache when I want to do a Google search and want to make sure I'm getting unbiased results. The rest of the time, I stay logged in, because for most searches I do, I want to help Google make the search as relevant to me as possible.

There's a great TED Talk on the "Google Search Bubble." You can (should) watch it here: http://bit.ly/xwHnX7. It's about ten minutes long and worth every second.

The problem the author is complaining about here, though, is that G+ links are taking precedence over other types of links in Google search results, whether you're logged in or out.

I haven't yet seen a particular problem with this, myself, but maybe I don't search for the same kinds of things as the author. Google mentioned at the beginning that G+ results would take precedence in search results, so I suppose that's technically fair warning, but still. If I'm searching for information, I want the information, not what you said about the information. No offense, guys, but except in fairly rare cases, I can't quote most of you as experts. ;)

3) If G+ has become too "noisy" for you – if you've got so much crap in your news stream that you're having a hard time keeping up, then you need to learn to use your circles properly. Start at +SocioloG+, here: http://bit.ly/z4AFSY.

I can't say I'm happy with +Google+ futzing with search results. I think that's a dangerous game to play when you've spent years setting yourself up as an information provider. I also can't say I agree entirely with this article, because I think a lot of what's being complained about in here are the result of users, not Google.

Overall, I'm still much happier with G+ than with Facebook.

#ImSoBloggingThis #Google #GooglePlus #SocialMedia

Reshared post from +ReadWriteWeb

As Google ships "the Google part" of its new Google+ identity, it's breaking the Internet it once helped build. I can't take it anymore.

Embedded Link

Google+ Is Going To Mess Up The Internet
I hate Google+. Can't stand it. It is agonizing to use. The stream is so noisy, it won't even bother me when the inevitable Google ads arrive. Culturally, it feels like walking into a religious school. It swarms with disciples of the + waiting for the messianic downfall of the Evil Internet, so t…

Google+: View post on Google+

Post imported by Google+Blog. Created By Daniel Treadwell.

Marci Sischo

After watching her parents murdered by a mugger in a back alley, Marci Sischo grew up vowing to become the world's greatest detec -- wait, that's Batman. Theorizing that one could time travel within her own lifetime, Marci Sischo stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished -- no, no. That's Dr. Sam Beckett. Drat. Marci Sischo grew up in northern Michigan, and moved to Oregon in 2009. Yes! She's the Commuter's webmaster, pursuing a journalism degree at LBCC, and in her dwindling spare time, she's co-authoring an urban fantasy novel.
  • https://plus.google.com/110563226218737221893 Mike Borsum

    Facebook is automatically better than G+, because people use it.

  • https://plus.google.com/111462022016147853576 Marci Sischo

    G+ is better than Facebook because no one's posting that "leik dis if you cry EVERTIEM" crap.

  • https://plus.google.com/110563226218737221893 Mike Borsum

    Ya, I don't know. You can build a better mousetrap, but if no one buys them, it's not catching any mice, is it? Facebook, while flawed, still seems to be doing it better than anyone. For instance, I cant post something directly to your page, and no one else. Am I doing it wrong?If not, wtf? What a complete oversight. The mass exodus just never happened. What good is a great social networking site, if theres no one to socialize with?

  • https://plus.google.com/111462022016147853576 Marci Sischo

    Depends on what you're going to use it for, really. I don't use Twitter for the same things I use Facebook for, and I don't post the same things to G+ as I post to Facebook. So far, G+ has had a much geekier and more… eh, call it "scholarly" tone than Facebook. Commentary is longer and more thoughtful, and posts tend to have a more science-y, academic bent than I see on Facebook. There are more science and journalism types on G+, too, and since fewer people are using the site, I have a better chance of commenting and connecting with some of the bloggers I like to read.