It's Google vs Facebook vs privacy

Robert Clark | August 30, 2010

telecomasia.net

Another day, another Google swing at Facebook.

This time the Googlers have bought Angstro, a startup that enables the sharing of news and other data across social networking sites.

Angstro, named after Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Angstrom, says its technology enables it to crunch data a huge swathe of data “to deliver very few, yet very intelligent results.”

The story, broken by the LA Times, says deal enables Google to tap Angstro founder Rohit Khare, a well-known Valley entrepreneur who was previously involved in KnowNow and non-profit CommerceNet.

It notes that Khare is attracted by Google’s open approach to social networking and content, compared with Facebook’s walled garden strategy.

Coming on the heels of Google’s recent acquisition of social apps firm Slide and social games developer Zynga, the move confirms that it’s game on in the social networking space, however inept some think that Google might be.

That also means it’s game on for our privacy, thanks to the willingness of both these companies to cross red lines with their use of personal data.

But the thing about privacy is it’s, well, private, and views differ. An Economist survey shows that even within Europe responses to the recent “Wi-Fi gate” flap varied widely.

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