technology buzz

yesterday, something strange happened when I logged into gmail. a new feature had appeared, called Google Buzz. from what I can gather, Buzz is a combination of Twitter and a Facebook live feed. you can post status updates, photos, links, and it automatically posts your gchat "away messages". (yes, I still like to think of it as an "away message".) you can also link up your other online accounts to directly post updates: Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, and YouTube.

I'm not 100% decided, but I think this Buzz thing might be genius. worth a try at least. you log into one account for updates from all your friends, from all their different web accounts. your gmail inbox becomes the center of your social universe. the only problem is, your friends have to be using it too. otherwise, you still have to log on to Facebook or wherever to see their updates. which unfortunately, is hard to do without finding a bunch of updates you don't really want.

to be honest, I've thought about deleting Facebook a few times. every time they update, it makes it harder to avoid over-exposure to unwanted information. I'm not going to name names, but some people's status updates are ridiculous. I hate when people post too much personal information, statuses that are just fishing for complements or sympathy, those "put this as your status if..." things, misspelled words and improper grammar, and people who post statuses that are meant to portray that person as happy and mature and selfless but other online content and real-life encounters prove them to be otherwise.

that's the tragic beauty of the internet and social networking I guess. since the majority of content is user-created, you can create your own persona. I'm not encouraging people to lie about who they are. but if you are going to pretend to be someone you are not, at least be consistent about it. you can't be both the girl next door and the bombshell sex kitten. putting the word "travel" in your interests doesn't mean anything unless you've actually gone somewhere. people are going to see through you if you claim to be a writer yet cannot be bothered to proofread your blog title, let alone your posts. and I know everyone has their own interpretation of art, but I don't think 47 myspace-style arm's length self portraits qualifies you as a photographer. no one is going to take you seriously if you keep contradicting yourself.

and to those who say "it's Facebook, no one takes it seriously anyway": I direct you to the numerous people who have been passed up for or even fired from jobs based solely on Facebook content. I know I'm judging. and complaining. but I wish people would think a little more about what they put out there. I'm not exempt from type-o's, too many cat photos, or the occasional ranting and overemotional blog post. but I usually take the time to think about what I'm putting out there as a representation of who I am.

true that you can delete certain "friends" from Facebook, and you don't have to follow someone's blog or twitter if it annoys you. but there are some people you just can't delete. so, thank goodness they added the "hide" feature. end rant.

so, while I'm not quite sure I'm ready for Dailybooth... I'll give this buzz thing a shot.