Yesterday, Skype announced that it was buying out the mobile group-communications application, GroupMe. Skype is, itself, in the process of being bought out by Microsoft.
According to GroupMe's announcement on its web site, the company will remain intact in New York City and continue its focus on building its platform, with the addition of Skype's resources and estimated 175 million users around the globe. Also, we can probably expect to see GroupMe features incorporated into Skype.
Since Facebook Messenger is, essentially, a skinned Skype application, we should then also expect to see GroupMe's features creep their way into FB Messenger, as well.
We all know that Facebook has chosen Microsoft's Bing search engine as its primary portal to the web over Google. Perhaps that was the spark that caused Google to launch Google+? Whatever the case may be, there are some serious privacy concerns that are being raised by this latest acquisition:
Will the MS/FB partnership (with Skype) have access to GroupMe's data and content? User profiles? User data?
What protections and guarantees will GroupMe be able to enforce to protect the privacy of its users with MS/FB breathing down its back, especially if a law enforcement operation becomes involved?
Will data from previous GroupMe conversations remain available after deletion, either in the cloud or on backup?
What sort of steps can be taken to protect users' data and ensure the integrity of such privacy policy promises?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Eight Guides to Google+
Have you received an invitation to join Google+ yet don't know where to begin? Here's a collection of different guides to help get you starting using Google's latest social network, which seems to be a raving success so far:
Mashable's Google+ Guide
The Huffington Post's "Your Google+ Guide: 15 Tips For Newbies"
SlashGear's A Google+ Guide from Top to Bottom
TechSource's Ultimate Guide to Using Google+
PCWorld's A Must-See How-to Guide to Google+ -- by users
BitShare's A Crowdsourced Guide to Using Google+
Social Media Examiner's How to Get Started with Google+, Your Complete Guide
20 of the best Google+ guides and tutorials to get freelancers up and running
Mashable's Google+ Guide
The Huffington Post's "Your Google+ Guide: 15 Tips For Newbies"
SlashGear's A Google+ Guide from Top to Bottom
TechSource's Ultimate Guide to Using Google+
PCWorld's A Must-See How-to Guide to Google+ -- by users
BitShare's A Crowdsourced Guide to Using Google+
Social Media Examiner's How to Get Started with Google+, Your Complete Guide
20 of the best Google+ guides and tutorials to get freelancers up and running
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