Jump to content

It Was Fun While It Lasted... G+


V.T. Eric Layton

Recommended Posts

V.T. Eric Layton

So long, Google. You won't pwn me. :thumbsup: Weeeeeeee!My last posting at G+:

Alas, it has come to this...Friends, Googlers, denizens of this realm we call the Internet, This is my last Google Plus transmission. I have been here since nearly the beginning. I've watched this service become the sweet candy that it now is; tempting and replete with potential poisonous side effects.I admit to always being a bit suspicious of SUPER-MEGA CORP Google. However, my suspicions were just that... suspicions. That is until I came to G+ and witnessed how a large corporate entity once again wipes its anal orifice with anything the little guy has to say when it doesn't correspond with their business plan.Privacy is a very important thing, folks. It's important in your real lives and it's important (possibly more so) here in this medium. Since the advent of the Internet, there have been those who have hunted, stalked, and bagged the weak, ignorant victims; children, old folks, silly housewives clicking on every pop-up that appeared on their screens. The wolves have targeted them all. It's sad that the sheep will trade their anonymity and security for a sweet taste of the candy. Just one taste, please. These same sheep are the ones who are being sheared daily by their governments, their churches, their employers, etc. Now they will be sheared by Google in its neverending feeding frenzy of data; public, private, ALL DATA!While I have to admit it's been fun, this little experiment of mine with G+ and my first foray into the social networking scene; I believe I must be moving on. THINK, folks. Use that mass of gray jelly in your head. Analyze all the input. Determine for yourself if it's worth exposing your real name, personal data, life history, etc. to a giant corporate entity whose NUMBER ONE purpose for existence is to turn a profit.Well, this is all just a matter of opinion, really. The above is my opinion. I'm no one. I'm nameless. I am pseudoynmous (maybe). ;)You know where to find me.It's been fun...~Eric
I feel so... so free. :)Later...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 67
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • V.T. Eric Layton

    20

  • securitybreach

    10

  • crp

    6

  • Neil P

    6

securitybreach

Well I guess it all depends on if you actually give them your real info or not. I personally have never given Google any real data at all so it does not matter one way or another to me.Also, how do you not know that the guy who posted it on Google+ is not full of it since there is not an official statement or anything else to backup his story? I have read so much disinformation over the years online that it is hard to believe someone without any sources listed or anything. The basis for the Slashdot article was just this post from Andy Carvin on Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/117378076401635...sts/2y7vqXBtLnyIf anything this is probably just more FUD but then again if it were true, I would probably be doing the same as you are. Here is the post from google+ for those of you without a google+ account:

I'm at the Edinburgh Intl TV Festival and just got to ask a question to Google CEO Eric Schmidt regarding real names on G+. I asked him how Google justifies the policy given that real identities could put people at risk.He replied by saying that G+ was build primarily as an identity service, so fundamentally, it depends on people using their real names if they're going to build future products that leverage that information. Regarding people who are concerned about their safety, he said G+ is completely optional. No one is forcing you to use it. It's obvious for people at risk if they use their real names, they shouldn't use G+. Regarding countries like Iran and Syria, people there have no expectation of privacy anyway due to their government's own policies, which implies (to me, at least) that Schmidt thinks there's no point of even trying to have a service that allows pseudonyms. Unfortunately, the way the Q&A was conducted, I wasn't in a position to ask him a followup on this particular point.He also said the internet would be better if we knew you were a real person rather than a dog or a fake person. Some people are just evil and we should be able to ID them and rank them downward. These aren't exact quotes, but I did my best to paraphrase the gist of what he was saying.Comments?
Does anyone know if this guy was actually at the event and is there a recording of his conversation? If not, for all we know he is a Facebook employee.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So long, Google. You won't pwn me. ;) Weeeeeeee!My last posting at G+:I feel so... so free. :)Later...
Good for you. Looks like you got out before they found you (though they did find Dr Kiki) BTW: the honcho's of Google do not use their real name in Google+ :thumbsup: different rules for the little people.B) It is not so much that Google's priority is making a profit, it is that its Number One Priority is making a tidy sum off of the users' data and saving loads of money on the users back.Side Note: a few months ago (pretty sure it was June) a known Google cynic noted that in their financials , Google set aside half billion dollars for a contingency. I thought the commenter made way too much out of this and that Google was just playing it ultra-safe and not that concerned.Well, anyone read any of the synopsis of the DOJ settlement with Google? More importantly, does anyone still believe that Google holds by its 'Do No Evil' mantra?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach

I mean do you honestly think the Executive Chairman of Google or any other company would tell someone this even if it were true? It seems a bit too far fetched IMO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest LilBambi

Nowadays, anything is possible...sadly.But, I am waiting to confirm it. And if Google denies it, are they telling the truth...it is coming to that now... I find it hard to believe anything corps say anymore, even Google now...sigh...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

I admit that the alleged comment by Eric Schmidt was the proverbial straw for me. However, that doesn't change the fact that Google was and still is pursuing (persecuting) users that it feels are in violation of their real name requirements in their G+ TOS. Whether or not I signed on as Elmer Fudd or my actual real birth certificate name, the point is what they're doing is and how they're behaving regarding user feedback about it is not to my liking. This is a just another case of "voting with my wallet". If I don't like something, some company, some organization, etc., I don't use their services if it's at all possible to do without them. I don't need Google.Google is NOT your friend, folks. Google is a profit driven marketing behemoth. Just this fact alone makes me wonder about their "do no evil" mantra. Evil is in the eye of the beholder. What Google feels is acceptable with regards to their business practices is their opinion alone. I've had a pretty bad taste in my mouth since my fiasco with my GoogleAdsense account termination when I first started blogging at Lockergnome. Google cares about the masses, but it doesn't give a rat's patootie about the little guy in that crowd.Ah well... Yahoo has always treated me pretty well; even Bing. ;)Later...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

Evil is a subjective thing. One man's evil is another man's hobby. ;)Anyway, found an interesting and very familar-looking alternative. Check it out --> https://joindiaspora.com/ Give a holler if you'd like an invitation. :' />

Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach
Anyway, found an interesting and very familar-looking alternative. Check it out --> https://joindiaspora.com/ Give a holler if you'd like an invitation. :' />
That is the one from Github right? I would like an invite unless I can just use my normal github credentials.Nope, the GitHub credentials did not work.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach

Waiting on the invite :' /> From the email I just received:

Thanks! We are slowly rolling out invites, and we will send you another email with an invite for an account as soon as we are ready.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton
Signed up as comhack@diasp.org or Josh Sabboth.
I see you! ;)Now, spread the word to your G+ and other friends. Diaspora needs a few million more users. :' />
Link to comment
Share on other sites

securitybreach

So just by looking around, I am kind of wondering if they will have a problem with Google considering it looks identical to plus?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps the other way around, Josh. Diaspora has been around for over a year. It just doesn't have the clout ($$$) that Google has.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,I suspect that many people lead boring, uneventful lives and just don't care to have their real name out there on the Internet. Or maybe they are a celebrity or professional and want to register/lock down their name so nobody else can impersonate them. I have heard that has been a problem with both domain names and on Twitter.As a federated identify service, I can see someone (e.g., Google) wanting to build a chain of trust somewhere. Regards,Aryeh Goretsky

Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton
Perhaps the other way around, Josh. Diaspora has been around for over a year. It just doesn't have the clout ($$$) that Google has.
That's true. Diaspora did start long before G+. Hmmm... interesting, huh?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As a federated identify service, I can see someone (e.g., Google) wanting to build a chain of trust somewhere.
Where is the chain? This issue would most certainly merit a thread of its own, but... um. It is difficult to be a little bit pregnant. Similarly, it is rather futile to be a little bit identified.Again... um. The current year – I checked! – is 2011, not 1911. This REALLY made me laugh:kuvakaappaus34.pngSource: http://infotrope.net/2011/08/04/google-plu...licy-explained/Very funny. Or not. Depends on where you live, really.Strong electronic identification, electronic signature and certification activities
Strong electronic identification means the verification of the identity of a person by an electronic method. In strong electronic identification, the identification device and its user can ultimately be connected to the person's true identity. The identification device used for strong electronic identification are bank identifiers used by banks, the Population Register Centre's citizen certificate and telecom operators' mobile certificates. Strong electronic identification enables consumers to certify their identity safely as they use various electronic services.
Over 80% of the population here actually use this "service" – "the bank identifiers method" being the most popular. Trust? Legislation and control: FICORA – provisions. Banks (bank identifiers), The Population Register Centre & the Police (citizen certificate), and operators (mobile certificates) will/must check one's "real life ID" as the first part of the procedure. Again: "Chain of trust"? Population Register (birth) --> Police ("real life ID" with or without citizen certificate) --> bank account with bank identifiers / telecom operators' mobile certificates.There has to be legislation and [public] control in place before private (or public) "operators" (e.g. Google) can play. Globally, ultimately, because the Internet is... um... global.Urmas has spoken. ;) avainlukulista300.jpg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

V.T. Eric Layton

Hmm... interesting and disturbing.Thanks for Skud's website link. I had her circled in G+.. till she got Googlenated. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i'm not laughing, urmas. some countries enjoy crushing their citizens by force of arms, the rest pretend to be civilized and use methods you've posted.
Let's not get overboard here – strong electronic identification1) does have its "legit" uses. "eServices" (online banking, healthcare online services, social insurance, tax issues, online voting2) and so on) aren't "doable" without reliable enough a method of electronic identification3).)The card in my post above is a specimen by a Finnish bank – a dud with "nonsensical" numbers – containing 300 [numbered] per-session security passwords. The login procedure is: [fixed] user name --> [fixed] password --> RANDOM one-time security password from the list. And users can also login to public eServices with the method."Bank identifiers" are by far the most popular method today, but that is not going to be the case much longer --> mobile certificate1) Strong electronic identification means the identification of a person and the verification of the authenticity and validity of the identification by an electronic method based on at least two of the following three alternatives:a] password or something similar that the identification device holder knows;b] chip card or something similar that the identification device holder has in his possession; orc] fingerprint or some other characteristic identifying the device holder(Act on Strong Electronic Identification and Electronic signatures [617/2009], Chapter 1 Section 2 Subsection 1)2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voting_in_Estonia3) The combination of a fixed password and user name does not satisfy the criteria for strong identification required by the Tupasspecification. The Tupas Certificate can only be used once and it is tied to both the service provider's service transaction in question and to thecustomer with a time stamp.http://www.fkl.fi/en/themes/e-services/Dok...ciples_v20b.pdf
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two-factor authentication is great. I have it for paypal and for my google account now, and I use it for my battle.net (blizzard) account, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest LilBambi

The problem is that Google has too many fingers in too many pots. They want G+ to be the beginning of an identity service and wrapping other social network items into it. Ones that NEVER before required any kind of 'identity' requirements such as GMail (normal email), Picasa (pictures), and even your GMail account that you might have used for your Android mobile devices could be put at risk if you decide not to go with their 'identity' changes to the services.No, this is not for me.This will be a bigger identity monster than Facebook ever was, IMHO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

rsa has its dongle for 2 factor id.cash, checks, credit cards bearer bonds, and to some degree, online accounts are easily stolen and used - with that in mind:2 factor id is far superior to user name / password, because all a user name and password are is a single long(ish) string of characters.as improbable as it is to snoop, hack or crack user name / password, it is possible.even further out is first obtaining user name / password and stealing the rsa dongle (for example.) improbable, but still possible.to circumvent those improbabilities,it may be that the veterinary / rancher / horse breeder style embedded chip will come to we the people too.
If it were up to me, I would have the an initial page with a user name and a math problem, followed by a page to enter password.The math problem would be a barrier to robo fills and also a way to introduce random time intervals.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest LilBambi
A wave out to all my Google+ friends (Fran's Computer Services Blog)
And other Google+ users who might soon be wondering where I went…I have found that as much as I absolutely love Google+ the ‘social network’ — now known to be an ‘identity service’, I am leaving on 9/9 along with some others that have identified 9/9 as the day to leave. Hopefully it will have some impact even if it’s only a small overall number of users. But more than anything, I hope it will have a lasting impression regardless on how dangerous ‘identity services’ appearing to be ‘social networks’ can be.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anything special about Friday September 9th being "ta-da" day?Wait, what?Google now takes your Google+ name and attaches it to your gmail even if your gmail already has a vetted name?wow, that can be confusing. and pity should be given to anyone who thought that they were making legitimate anonymous missives.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest LilBambi

I think it's just that it's a specific date and you need a specific date ;)Also, it's two days before 9/11 which means it won't be interfering with folks commemorating on 9/11.Other than that, it's a Friday....No idea :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...