Google Buzz Educates Teens About Privacy

Google has released a new video aimed at teens about making Google Buzz a safer experience.
The video was released in conjunction with the new Buzz privacy reset issued yesterday. This new focus on privacy and privacy options comes amidst class-action lawsuits and a request for FTC investigation regarding the service’s launch and explanation to consumers.

Although aimed at teens, the tips are good for anyone using Buzz to keep in mind.
Here’s the video:




 These are Google’s highlighted tips: 

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  Keep your private information private – Don’t listen to Mark Zuckerberg kids — public is only the new private if you let it be.
• Know who’s following you – This is perhaps easier said than done as it forces users to monitor their Gmail accounts for Buzz-related information.
• Control your Google Profile – Google lets you control what people can see, but you don’t have to do anything more than offer up your first and last name.
• Manage posts and comments – Google Buzz lets you edit or delete any comments that you make on your own posts, delete comments others leave on your posts and delete comments you leave on others’ posts.
• Know how to turn it off – In Gmail settings, you have the option of either turning Buzz off in Gmail but keeping it active on your phone or disabling it entirely. Disabling Buzz entirely will remove your Google Profile account and delete all of the comments and posts associated with your account.

As nice as it is to see Google finally trying to take control of its product and emphasize consumer education and options, the video also underscores how flawed the initial Buzz roll-out was from a privacy perspective. I mostly wrote about the privacy issues in context of adults communicating with other adults — I didn’t even think about all of the teen mini-dramas that might have occured because of the previous default settings.
What do you think about Google’s launch of Buzz and the company’s subsequent actions? Let me know.