Topic: Google's aggressive push of Google+ via YouTube update

[Ratty]

I didn't say promoting G+ wasn't part of the deal. It's a really nice bonus to the whole package.

"nice bonus"? I guess if you believe a soulless corporation has all our best interests in mind. The total loss of any kind of privacy will have a few benefits, but not many compared to what we're going to lose. But like I said, there's nothing for it. Privacy is already mostly an illusion anyway.

Aside from all of those concerns well... I know social networking sites are great for keeping in touch etc. but I just hate using them. For one I don't want people I've never talked to to know so much about me, even if it's all just stuff I'd tell you no problem if you asked. It puts me at a disadvantage in a conversation. And I know random people on facebook don't really care what my political beliefs or favorite movies/games/tv shows are, advertising agencies looking at stats for my age group sure do though! As do potential employers "Hm this one has different religious/political beliefs than me? Welp, here's another resume/application for the trash pile."

More importantly, I can't stand endless streams of people's pictures of what they had for dinner, half-baked political/religious rants or vacation photos from friends/family I feel obligated to "friend". And then being considered rude if I don't feign interest in all of it. Basically all the stuff in this song applies to facebook, and will apply to goolge+ only more so.
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me

[Gunlord]

Yeah, I'm not sure the real identity is a good thing either. Sure, as uzo says, it might cut down on some of the crap, but remember that anonymity is important to well-intentioned people too. Just off the top of my head, what if you work for a very politically involved boss and want to criticize a candidate he likes or praise a candidate he opposes? Without anonymity, if he sees a comment from you on Youtube he might axe your job or otherwise discriminate against you. I think forcing people to use their real names could strangle genuine good discussion as much as trollin.

[Ratty]

Wow this is even worse for comments than I thought.

"As it turns out, prominence is given to comments that get a lot of replies and a lot of controversy. Meaning that they have essentially created an institutionalized method to feed the trolls." - TotalBiscuit

Also he's right, TV is dying a slow death, meanwhile Google and other big internet companies are hard at work trying to turn the internet into TV.

[Inccubus]

Google is raising my ire with all these pointless bullshit changes. They pissing me off to no end. Fuckers.

[Kaori]

I absolutely hate the new changes to Youtube. I've had a Google+ account for a while now, but the ONLY thing I ever did with it was create it. I never even went back to it once after I created it. Now Youtube has merged with Google+, and sometimes I'll find myself somewhere randomly in Google+ land, when I want to be on Youtube...and it's really annoying. Or the fact that it deleted my avatar and I had to put a new one up. Or the main problem...the new comment system is horrible.

I hate this new change like everyone else, but I swear, I'm getting sick of seeing Bob and the tank thing, the link to the incredibly loud flashing screamer, and the ASCII dick pictures. Posting that crap isn't helping the situation at all, and is quite frankly highly annoying.

[Bloodreign]

If I already didn't have a Google+ account (which I don't use anyway), I would've told Youtube to piss off. Of course I love commenting on old school game collectors videos as well as videos of old school gaming, so I kinda am glad I do have an account, though it's not under my real name and have never rolled with the "use my real name" thing Youtube tried to force on me at one time.

[VladCT]

http://www.reddit.com/r/Cynicalbrit/comments/1qmm33/google_comments_official_youtube_response/
Wow, when even just a couple guys say that it's worse than 4chan, you know you done goofed.

[chainsawmidget]

Youtube comments have been absolute garbage for years.  I don't see why anyone even bothers with them anyway.

[Intersection]

Hmm. I'd always known it would get ugly, but I never expected this:

"We have been listening to your feedback, and are aware of the abuses certain members of the community are engaging in. This very vocal minority has ruined what was meant to be a cleaner, more efficient commenting system.

I'd like to restate that the vast majority of users already own a Google+ account, so really it is the trolls of the internet who have hijacked the conversation. We have begun implementing steps to get rid of these harmful comments and silence the trolls.

Hang in there, folks!"

Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President, Social, at Google.

Hard to believe, isn't it? I'm glad I never really bothered to comment on Youtube.

[Mooning Freddy]

Youtube comments have been absolute garbage for years.  I don't see why anyone even bothers with them anyway.

Well, at least it was fun. I really enjoyed having conversations with Rainbow Dash, Vegeta and Joseph Stalin.

[Gunlord]

Well, at least it was fun. I really enjoyed having conversations with Rainbow Dash, Vegeta and Joseph Stalin.

Quote of the year!

[Ratty]

I'd like to restate that the vast majority of users already own a Google+ account...

No shit, you've not given anyone who uses any google services over the last year much choice.

so really it is the trolls of the internet who have hijacked the conversation. We have begun implementing steps to get rid of these harmful comments and silence the trolls.

They can't "hijack a conversation" if they're the only people participating in it. Most users may technically have a google+ account, but having it and using it, or even caring about it, are very different things. I don't know how many old yahoo emails I made in the 90s, but I'm not exactly broken up that I don't remember. PR men, gotta loath em.

[Intersection]

And here's the worst of it: forcing Google+ onto Youtube users will do practically nothing to help encourage more "meaningful" conversations. In the same way anonymous users were creating 'fake' Youtube accounts to post the offensive or inflammatory comments Google is fighting against, contemporary trolls will simply create fake Google+ accounts, complete with false, inconspicuous names, to post the same garbage they've gotten used to posting in the past. So it's essentially a useless measure. Worse, it'll cause Google+ to become littered with empty, unused accounts, which are far more likely to hurt the G+ experience than to help it in any way.

In the end, if Google had truly followed its own self-proclaimed motivations, it would have implemented the video comment integration from Google+ into Youtube, and not the other way around. The way it stands, the move is nothing more than a very poorly-conceived pitch to promote its relatively unsuccessful social network. And, most importantly, it comes to the detriment of its users' privacy and trust.
And so, for Gundotra's statement, I call BS.

Well done, Google. You've managed to disappoint us all.

[Lumi Kløvstad]

There was a time when I was a huge G+ fan, but Google's power plays are making it harder than ever to remain a fan. I'm still an Android fan, but only until Firefox OS gets better and Ubuntu Touch is really finished next year.

Then, bye bye Google. They were good times, until you went and became an ass about everything.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

-I'm OK with GMail.

-I joined G+ a long while ago actually, when it first launched... but it just wasn't interesting.  And this is coming from someone who actually was afraid of Facebook but eventually embraced it.  G+ just doesn't seem to offer anything particularly different AND it doesn't have the number of people that Facebook has.

-I enjoyed Google Talk for a bit... but I used Skype more... but now "Hangouts" replaced Talk.  And "Hangouts" seems related to G+.... but I'll just stick to Skype for now.

-I actually used Google Buzz for a while, but then I got sick of it.  It's now dead.

-I use Google Translate for a few things.  I like it.

-and I use Youtube to upload and share my VG Music Arrangement.

What I don't want, however, is for my comments to show who I am.  I'm known as "TGMagus", not as "Jorge D. Fuentes".  I don't want any G+ people to get into Youtube.  I used to just share what I made for Youtube on G+... but now, it shows "Jorge D. Fuentes shared this".  People don't need to know that I shared it.  And though I don't mind using my real name, I've developed a separate group of people with Youtube who know me as TGMagus.

I don't want 'friend requests' for G+, since it's a system I never use.  It's dividing my audience, in my opinion.
I used to comment quite a bit for Youtube, but since the change, I've been unable to comment... even in my own channel.
I don't feel compelled.  And the constant "Do you want to use your real name? No?  OK WE'LL ASK YOU AGAIN LATER" just makes me want to quit Youtube altogether.
I think I will just refrain from merging anything.  I guess I don't need to comment on Youtube.  Thankfully it doesn't stop me from uploading.