Google Sidewiki is a plug-in or toolbar used on the browser that allows people to comment and also read other people’s comments on any page they visit on the internet. Each comment posted is linked to the user’s profile and appears whenever someone with the Google Sidewiki toolbar visits that website. This is more like Google controlling what happens on the webspace and how information is dispensed among users from one platform to another.
The idea of monitoring what the whole webspace is up to and the types of comments posted online can seem like a very ambiguous thing to do by any organization or company, but Google has surprised us by introducing the Google Sidewiki toolbar to take charge of this monitoring process of the online activities of its users. Google says that the Sidewiki is effortless in its installation and process, but that the toolbar does get in the way of your daily engagement online once it has been installed.
Google maintains that it is trying to filter online content and how it is passed around the space to ensure the internet is a safe place for everyone, but not many have agreed with the idea of having a watchful eye on their activities online and also controlling what can be posted or not. One can assume that this is the sole reason why many of the companies before Google that attempted the use of smart tags and other tools to control activities online frizzled out. Even as much as people want a safe internet, having their conversations monitored by an external body is not quite welcoming, hence the low usage of the Google Sidewiki.
Google cannot really monitor or control what people put up on their websites and how users get to comment on them, as it is done in the case of bloggers, but it can index the websites to control what is being done online. But Google is a very large company, and it has not just the means but also the capability to make use of the Google Sidewiki, an attempt which other companies have tried to make use of in various ways but failed as it was rejected by users. Most of the companies, like Third Voice, eventually wound up due to this.
The Google Sidewiki toolbar is available to be installed on your browser, and it takes no time to have it done. Once installed, the browser needs to be restarted to allow the Google Sidewiki toolbar to begin its function. From then on, any comments posted by the user on any website would be seen by other users of the Google Sidewiki as well.
Final thoughts
Many people still do not appreciate the fact that Google is trying to control their conversations and comments online, so they do not have the Google Sidewiki installed. Google asserts that it can flag down false and bad comments on the internet, making it easier and safer for communication if everyone makes use of the Google Sidewiki.
