Google+ to become the next Twitter?

[YosemiteSam]

So, I use Google+. I have a few friends and family I talk with. I decided to look around and see who else was out there that I wasn't connected with. I knew a lot of tech giants employees use Google+ to post about stuff they are working on.

Well damn! I've got a techno feed from hell now. :laugh2:

I know a lot of people don't use it like that, but I've got to think it's coming. Google+ has so much more than Twitter offers. It's like a merging of Facebook and Twitter with far more control.

I can also filter in Cowboys and Rangers news in the feed. It's like a Swiss army knife.

 

[Faerluna]

I still haven't used that heap of crap.

 

[rash]

i can see it happening within the next couple of years.

 

[realtick]

Hmmmm

 

[Reality]

Not sure it is smart to tie your email, search history, documents, friends and family all in one place. Convenience will be the buzzword in the beginning, but in the end, privacy issues will be the hot-topic.

I like Google and its desire to not be evil, but the bigger and more centralized it becomes with data on everyone, the more it will be a target for hackers, corporations and for governments (not just ours).

It would be rather funny (not really, scary is a better word) for a government like China to buy Google if Google+ supplants Facebook some day. If China bought Facebook, people would just leave for Google+ or another alternative but if Google+ keeps growing, most users will have a large part of their personal data tied to one or more of Google's services eventually.

#reality

 

[Cowboy Brian]

Not sure it is smart to tie your email, search history, documents, friends and family all in one place. Convenience will be the buzzword in the beginning, but in the end, privacy issues will be the hot-topic.

I like Google and its desire to not be evil, but the bigger and more centralized it becomes with data on everyone, the more it will be a target for hackers, corporations and for governments (not just ours).

It would be rather funny (not really, scary is a better word) for a government like China to buy Google if Google+ supplants Facebook some day. If China bought Facebook, people would just leave for Google+ or another alternative but if Google+ keeps growing, most users will have a large part of their personal data tied to one or more of Google's services eventually.

#reality

That's why I am avoiding it. However I do use fake alias's on nearly everything, a select few on CZ know my full real name and that's about it. On FB I use a fake last name. I am highly concerned about privacy, too much data about someone can be accessed by these companies.

 

[CowboyMcCoy]

Not sure it is smart to tie your email, search history, documents, friends and family all in one place. Convenience will be the buzzword in the beginning, but in the end, privacy issues will be the hot-topic.

I like Google and its desire to not be evil, but the bigger and more centralized it becomes with data on everyone, the more it will be a target for hackers, corporations and for governments (not just ours).

It would be rather funny (not really, scary is a better word) for a government like China to buy Google if Google+ supplants Facebook some day. If China bought Facebook, people would just leave for Google+ or another alternative but if Google+ keeps growing, most users will have a large part of their personal data tied to one or more of Google's services eventually.

#reality

I use fake info. because they're everywhere trying to find your info.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Not sure it is smart to tie your email, search history, documents, friends and family all in one place. Convenience will be the buzzword in the beginning, but in the end, privacy issues will be the hot-topic.

I like Google and its desire to not be evil, but the bigger and more centralized it becomes with data on everyone, the more it will be a target for hackers, corporations and for governments (not just ours).

It would be rather funny (not really, scary is a better word) for a government like China to buy Google if Google+ supplants Facebook some day. If China bought Facebook, people would just leave for Google+ or another alternative but if Google+ keeps growing, most users will have a large part of their personal data tied to one or more of Google's services eventually.

#reality

There is a lot of truth to this, though there is no way in hell the US government would ever allow Google to be sold to China. They (Google and China) both know this.

 

[Reality]

There is a lot of truth to this, though there is no way in hell the US government would ever allow Google to be sold to China. They (Google and China) both know this.

I was going to mention that as well but you are assuming a few things. First, the US could not stop a "company" or "investors" in China from buying Google or any US corporation. It's the whole "free trade market" that makes that possible. Now there are obstacles the US government could create but ultimately, they could not stop it. Even if the US were to enact laws that would give them the power to block the sale, there would be many ways to get around it.

But even beyond that, it concerns me that one entity would control so much information about most people in the country. I do not question Google's intentions as they have made a sincere effort to fight on the side of privacy at least to this point. The problem is that the more centralized they become with data storage, the more likely that information will be used in evil ways whether by choice, by accident, by illegal means or by court order.

I look at it like this .. let's say a medical service launched that could implant a bio-chip into everyone that would immediately alert 911 if it detected you were in distress of some kind. Well of course to do that effectively the bio-chip would have to include GPS capability. While that company's intentions were to be helpful, how long before the police, government, hackers, etc. gain backroom access to that company's data?

GPS in phones was designed to help people find their destinations yet now it is commonly used in tracking individuals whether it be past criminals, would-be criminals, over-protective parents, mistrustful spouses and unreliable employees.

#reality

 

[Chocolate Lab]

It would be rather funny (not really, scary is a better word) for a government like China to buy Google if Google+ supplants Facebook some day.

I've always worried about China or some other unfriendly buying Facebook (or Google+) with all its personal information.

It's funny how many younger people don't even consider privacy when putting everything out there.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Actually, the government can step in and prevent the sale of a US asset to another country it deems hostile. China would fit that mold.

Do you think the US would actually allow the sale of say Lockheed Martin to China? Nope. They even prevent them from selling some of their products to other countries. They could and probably would easily block the sale of Google to China and deem it a threat to national security. Which I would say would be the exact same reason they would block the sale of Lockheed Martin.

 

[Reality]

Actually, the government can step in and prevent the sale of a US asset to another country it deems hostile. China would fit that mold.

Do you think the US would actually allow the sale of say Lockheed Martin to China? Nope. They even prevent them from selling some of their products to other countries. They could and probably would easily block the sale of Google to China and deem it a threat to national security. Which I would say would be the exact same reason they would block the sale of Lockheed Martin.

There are no laws to prevent a foreign country from buying shares of stock in a publicly traded company. The US might be able to stop the sale of a privately owned company but because Google is publicly traded, congress would have to enact new laws to stop the sale. I mean right now, China or its investors could be buying shares of Google's stock every day.

The only power I can see the US government having would be if it had huge contracts or was the company's largest customer, then I could see them leveraging that against the company and the company's board would likely fold.

For example ...

Although most of the stakes were small, China Investment Corp., the government’s $300 billion investment fund, now owns stock in some of the best-known American brands, including Apple, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola and Visa, David Barboza and Keith Bradsher report in The New York Times.

#reality

 

[YosemiteSam]

Stop them from buying publicly traded stock? No. Taking controlling interest of such a company? Yes, they can.

Saudi Arabia or Pakistan can by stock in Lockheed Martin (LMT) for investment purposes, but they could never take controlling interest in Lockheed. The US not only wouldn't allow it to happen, they COULDN'T allow it to happen. Lockheed Martin builds top secret US military equipment. It would be an enormous threat to national security. Google contains such a wealth of information on US citizens among many other things, that it too would be a threat to national security to allow a foreign power to take controlling interest in.