The curmudgeon zone

Sep 15 2011

Call me crazy, or even curmudgeonly, but I figure if you’re going compare something to Second Life (or compare Second Life to something else) you should at least have some idea about what Second Life actually is.

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Google insists on the right to choose your name

Aug 7 2011

Google-Plus-LogoAnd also to change its mind at any time.

Whatever the reason Google gives for its policies regarding names on its profiles, new social network services (and whatever other services it chooses to bring under that banner over time), whether it is making people feel ‘safer’, eliminating spammers and scammers, or for mining marketing data; the practical result of all of how it works out is that Google wants to pick which name you get to publically use when you use those services, and to renege on that decision and force you to select another, should it change its mind.

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Theorem

Jul 23 2011

Any sufficiently large social network based solely on real-names becomes unusable.

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The pants-theory of Google Plus

Jul 20 2011

So, why is Google pushing so hard for your wallet name on Google Plus and Google Profiles? Some say that it’s because of “Marketers and Advertisers”. Horse feathers! I don’t even know who started that notion. They don’t care about the name in your wallet, whether you dress up in latex or pretend to be a fairy princess. Long as you’re clicking and buying, nobody cares who you are.

Alternatively, you could easily point to Orkut and say “Look at that. It became a polluted mess – a disaster – in just months. Nobody wants that again.” Indeed, nobody does, but this method isn’t a workable way to avoid it, and Google would already know that.

No, this is about pants. Metaphorical pants, leastways.

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