Gizmodo: Google Admits Buzz Testing Sucked and They Are "Very, Very Sorry"

I followed the CNet article's recommendations and found them to be similar to what I had done on my own.

It's so weird that Google did this so bass-ackward. Don't they usually launch things as 'Beta' for months or years and there's always a definite 'opt in' method?
I mean, you need an invitation for their new services, usually, and any software they offer is definitely downloaded/installed/activated at the user's request.
So not like them.

Yahoo has been offering a social network ("Get updates on your friends!") for months and nobody has cared one iota. Nobody mentions it when they discuss social networking sites. It exists as a side panel on my yahoo mail page with no way to 'turn it off'. I don't participate, but I can't get rid of it, either. Oh well, it's a free service and if that's one of the ads I can't block then so be it. At least it isn't immediately and by default broadcasting my 'news' to the rest of my contact list.

I think Facebook has met the market need that MySpace didn't. They took the 'Classmates.com' concept and made it free and offered it to educated adults (at first), which garnered it a very sensible base population to start with. No frills and very little user customization. Then there's the games and apps (which I don't use) which add another dimension to the experience.

As for Twitter, I never followed any private blogs anyway, so 'micro-blogging' isn't part of my internet experience.
Call me old-fashioned.
*shrug*