Under a Gibbous Moon

After watching the Google Buzz controversy play out over the last week or so, I can honestly say that I am completely confused.

I signed up on Buzz the day it became available in my Gmail account, which was, I believe, the day after launch (and definitely before the shit storm started). When I did so it was quite explicit about what was going on and what it was going to do. It even listed who would be listed me following and gave me the opportunity to edit this list (which I did).

From reading much of the fury around the internet, it seems that my experience was totally unique. Apparently everyone else had Buzz just load up on its own and suddenly steal their identities and head for Vegas.

Now, admittedly, if you started up Buzz and clicked through the first couple of screens, you could be unpleasantly surprised.

I personally believe that much of the confusion comes from the fact that the Buzz icon was placed into the Gmail menu whether or not you have activated it, leading people to believe that was automatically activated.

This simply could have been handled by placing it in the text menu at the top of the screen where the various Google services appear even if you are not currently signed up for them.

Could this have been handled better by Google, certainly. Is the internet’s response to it radically overblown, yes.

In an attempt to make England the most surveilled country next to China, the government has contracted out for its own fleet of UAV drones. You know, like the ones we use to spy on terrorists.

Not content to merely spy on its citizens with security cameras on every corner, the British government has taken to the skies. From there they will monitor maritime traffic as well as road traffic. In fact, covert urban surveillance is one of the key components of the program. Which is great since, in order to offset its costs, they plan to sell surveillance data private companies.

The way things are going over there, England will soon be declaring war on Eastasia (or was it Oceania?) and shoveling their citizens down the Memory Hole.

Hat Tip: Schneier on Security