The Google+ social network gained some popularity 5-7 years ago among virtual world fans who wanted to maintain their avatar-based accounts as Facebook was banning those. Some bad news there:
This March, as Facebook was coming under global scrutiny over the harvesting of personal data for Cambridge Analytica, Google discovered a skeleton in its own closet: a bug in the API for Google+ had been allowing third-party app developers to access the data not just of users who had granted permission, but of their friends. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s almost exactly the scenario that got Mark Zuckerberg dragged in front of the US Congress. The parallel was not lost on Google, and the company chose not to disclose the data breach, the Wall Street Journal revealed Monday, in order to avoid the public relations headache and potential regulatory enforcement...
Shortly after the story was published, Google announced that it will shut down consumer access to Google+ and improve privacy protections for third-party applications.
Where to go now, if not Facebook or Twitter?
Google+ exiles, share your next social network destination in Comments!
I tried Google+ shortly after it first launched. The biggest problem, of course, was that most of my friends were still on Facebook. It didn't help that Google mismanaged the service from the get-go, in their attempt to compete with Facebook. The real-name debacle. Crowbarring G+ into other Google services. The mobile apps that always fell short, as if they'd prefer everyone use a web browser (preferably Chrome) instead.
I think the takeaway from the news of this data breach is that Google, for all their ballyhoo, prizes the satisfaction of their egos and bank balances about the greater good. The phrase "Don't Be Evil" is now a sick joke.
I've deleted my Google+ profile. Thankfully, you can do that without sacrificing your Google account. I keep that only for Google Drive and Google Docs, as I use those for collaboration with others.
Alternatives? Discord is the best alternative I've found for communication and collaboration. It's not Facebook and doesn't try to be. I would have said Tumblr, up until a year ago, but now they are becoming a walled garden, particularly if you blog anything remotely adult. Seriously, got yourself cheap webhosting, your own domain name, install Wordpress and have your words and pictures under your own control.
Posted by: Supermarine Spitfire | Tuesday, October 09, 2018 at 02:13 AM