It seems every few months privacy becomes the primary focus of all discussions about social media. It's undeniable that people want to be found, want to connect and want to share online, but not at the cost of losing complete control of their identity.

This time around, Google triggered the controversy with the release of Google Buzz.  In short, the issue centered around Buzz's following/follower system - basically when you would sign up for a Buzz account you were automatically following people you contacted most on Gmail.  You would also have access to their Picasa and Google Reader accounts.  The only problem with that is just because you correspond with someone via email, doesn't mean you want them in your social sphere or have access to your RSS feeds and pictures.

As it was, Google was very responsive to these issues and has made the proper adjustments, but the incident raises an interesting question.  It seems like Google and Facebook and many other sites out there are encouraging people to socialize more and more with the general public, and even though there are some that relish the opportunity to connect with people they don't know from around the world, many are just fine with using the Web and social media to interact with only those close to them.  Where should the line be drawn and as users, what should we expect from the sites we decide to share our personal information?

As a Web company, we debate these issues every day to try to find that happy median between sharing and overexposure.  Our approach to privacy is that users should have the choice to make their content public, but not be required to.  That's why we created our patent-pending Privacy Manager.  It allows you to decide on a person-by-person, page-by-page and photo album-by-photo album basis who is able to see any or all of your web site that you design.  Also, the Graffiti blog gives you complete control over what networks you share your updates on.

As ZooLoo continues to grow, our number one priority is and always will be making sure you feel safe on our site.  If you ever have a question about our privacy policy or how our Privacy Manager works, email us directly at geeks@zooloo.com.