Pixeleen Mistral, a Second Life avatar, was recently suspended by Google+. She posted an article in Alphaville Herald, Google+ Suspends Pixeleen Mistral – Nerfs Data Liberation Front. This article should give all Google users pause. Pixeleen was blocked from Google+ and Gmail.
I think we all know Facebook and Google are in business and a prime source of their income is marketing data with an emphasis on your personal data. What many have not thought of is their personal data, i.e., contact lists and other information you personally create. Pixeleen is pointing out that being blocked in Google+ can cut you off from your data. You won’t be able to access it or download it. I don’t mean ONLY your Google+ data. I mean all of it in any of the Google Services.
With the wide array of Google Web Master Tools that all key on the email account, blocking a Gmail account could devastate an avatar’s web efforts.
Now that Google+ is bringing gamers into the Google mix the Google employees will have to figure out how to deal with griefers that like to play the Abuse-Report-to-Death game. I’ve not seen any indication that Google folks even understand such a game exists. It does exist in the business world where competing businesses resort to less than ethical marketing tactics. But, I don’t see where they have ever acknowledged similar problems in the socical networking concepts.
In fact it appears Google’s managers and programmers are more the stereotyped geeks with no social skills than the progressive liberal thinking stereotype they try to portray. The Second Thoughts blog wrote about Andrew Bunner, a Google engineer, starting a Fake Name Witch Hunt. Quoting Second Thoughts;
It’s in this thread which takes you to his name at first but then you may have to hunt for the thread on avatar names. (You’re going to have to join Google+ to see this; yes, it’s a walled garden LOL.)
It is suspicious that this is done behind what some of us consider closed doors, within Google+.
As Pixeleen names it, the Google+ MMO has stakes that many are probably not considering.
As a large part of my iRL work is web design and SEO work. I know about some of Google’s retaliatory practices. Horror stories abound about people and their clients being banned from the Google Search database. These practices seem to be part of the culture of Google.
So, if you are starting to reconsider you participation in Google+, you may want to read Techtin.com’s article, How to delete / disable your Google plus account.
As of this morning, Sunday, I’ve removed my profile and social aspects that make up Google+ from my collection of Nalates’ Google accounts. No more Google+ for me, until Google figures out how social networks actually work and decide what they are going to do.
Be careful that you do NOT delete all your Google services as it appears that is possible.
After deleting the Google+ part of your account, you are asked an exit question. They want to know why your leaving. I posted a link to Pixeleen’s article and explained why I deleted my Google+ service.
As much as I dislike Facebook, it is less of a risk to me than Google+ is.