Reputation Management, Internet Privacy, and Social Media Quick Hits
In today’s Quick Hits, we explore Google’s ongoing tête-à-tête with China, talk about child safety on Facebook, and discuss how Australia hopes to avoid more Internet privacy problem.
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Google and China Come to Terms
Google and China have reached a temporary agreement that will allow the company to continue operating in the country. In protest of Chinese Internet censorship, Google had been automatically sending Chinese Google users to its Hong Kong-based website. Two weeks ago, China barred Google from automatically redirecting users to the Hong Kong website, leading Google to instead began displaying a prominent link to the Hong Kong site. According to the New York Times, Beijing will continue to allow Google to operate in this manner. Analysts see it as a decent compromise, though it will likely hurt Google’s business in the long-run.
Australia Plans Update to 22-Year-Old Privacy Laws
Last week, Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis declared that Google had broken Australian privacy law when it accidentally collected Wi-Fi payload data with its Street View cars, but that the company wouldn’t face any punishment. Today, Special Minister of State Joe Ludwig proposed an update to Australia’s 22-year-old privacy act to ensure that if future privacy violations occur, companies will be held accountable. In most countries throughout the world, including the United States, privacy laws were written before the Internet became a major part of our everyday lives.
Google Suggest and Online Reputation Management
In a guest post for ProBlogger, Chris Birk discusses why bloggers should pay attention to “Google Suggest” as it relates to their online reputations. Google Suggest is the feature that gives predictive search suggestions based on the words you type into the Google search box. Birk argues that if your name or your company’s name in Google Suggest is associated with words like “scam,” searchers will instinctively select the negative-leaning search string.
Facebook Helps UK’s CEOP Build Child Safety App
Months after meeting with the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Facebook has come through on its promise of enhanced child safety features. According to CNET, “though it’s successfully resisted pressure to install a mandatory ‘panic button’ on users’ home pages, Facebook has permitted the U.K.’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) to build an app for its platform that members of the social-networking site can use to report online abuse directly to CEOP or seek advice about potential dangers of the Web.”
PC World: 5 Burning Questions for Google-Zynga Deal
A number of reports have suggested that Google recently invested between 0 and 0 million in social gaming company Zynga (makers of the popular Farmville game for Facebook). Allegedly, Google’s investment in Zynga is part of the company’s plans to build a gaming platform called Google Games, which will be a major part of Google’s forthcoming social networking website Google Me. This PC World article asks “5 Burning Questions” about the Google-Zynga deal, including how privacy concerns may factor into its success.
