NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Changes to YouTube commenting policy vs. anonymity
Changes to YouTube commenting policy vs. anonymity Choosing how you're seen on YouTube http://j.mp/MjpVKT (YouTube Blog) Google Begins Practically Begging You to Use Your Real Name on YouTube http://j.mp/Mjq4xW (BetaBeat) Press reports seem to be treating this story as a Google hates anonymity story, but I believe that's an inaccurate characterization. Google appears to have evolved into a rather layered approach, with different services falling into different slots on the identity continuum. For example, Google Search can be used without any accounts at all. Toward the other end of the spectrum, Google+ is more identity oriented, but is now fairly flexible in terms of displayed names -- and doesn't require identity verification. Obviously, Google services that involve financial transactions require verification such as a credit card. YouTube is sort of in the middle, requiring accounts to upload or comment, but not to simply view videos. And while new YouTube channels are essentially aliases of regular Google accounts, these are not held to the same (higher) standard as Google+ identities. The new YouTube approach appears to encourage better identification beyond channel IDs, but does not actually require this. Nor do I believe that later requiring a higher identity standard for YouTube comments would be practical without fundamentally restricting the dynamic there in a significantly negative way. Along with all this it should be remembered that YouTube videos do not have to accept comments at all (though doing so should always be encouraged), and that YouTube also supports pre-moderation of comments (more work for the video poster, but extremely useful, and something that I sorely wish Google+ also offered). Addendum: "In Google Begins Practically Begging You to Use Your Real Name on YouTube" (today, from "BetaBeat") - their discussion of changes to YouTube's commenting identity system is not entirely clear as to whether or not the choice of commenting on videos using a YouTube channel identity (vs. a Google+ name identity) is a one-time choice (reversible?) or (in at least some cases) on a video-by-video choice basis. Since it would be completely reasonable to want to choose using your YouTube channel identity for some comments, and your Google+ name for other YouTube comments, this is a potentially important issue. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org Founder: - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com _______________________________________________ nnsquad mailing list http://lists.nnsquad.org/mailman/listinfo/nnsquad