EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) filed a complaint with the FTC that Google’s new Buzz significantly breached “consumers’ expectations of privacy.” Many complaints were made after Google’s recent launch of Buzz, because Buzz automatically created “public circles of friends for users based on their most frequent Gmail contacts.” EPIC wants the FTC to order Google to make Buzz “opt-in.” What this means to Google’s social media evolution will be interesting to watch.
HEADLINE: “Facebook directs more online users than Google”
At the same time that Google’s social media is taking center stage a report was released that indicates that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is being replaced with Social Media Optimization (SMO):
“According to Web measurement firm Compete Inc., Facebook has passed search-engine giant Google to become the top source for traffic to major portals like Yahoo and MSN, and is among the leaders for other types of sites.”
There’s no rocket science to understand that Facebook’s 400 million friends have changed communications forever and SMO’s impact of search engines and SEO cannot be ignored. As Facebook rolls out its Titan email system SMO is certain to expand.
Aardvark joins Google!
At the same time of this Buzz controversy Google purchased Aardvark which is interesting since Vark.com “has defined a new kind of social search: sometimes you want a person, not a web page, to answer your question.” SMO and SEO are in the middle of Google’s evolution. This is a lot to digest at one time. Stay tuned.