Today’s Quick Hits focus heavily on Facebook and Google. Check back later today for an update of our Recommended Facebook Privacy Settings.

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Facebook’s New Privacy Controls Offer Confusing Improvements

Facebook has made some significant (and confusing) new changes to its privacy settings with the addition of a new privacy section called “Friends, Tags, and Connections.” The changes themselves are generally positive. For one thing, they allow users to hide certain parts of their profiles such as their Friend List, current city, and “things they like” (what we used to call Fan Pages). Unfortunately, the language in the new privacy section is extremely confusing.

As TechCrunch points out, Facebook’s description of the “Friends, Tags and Connections” section is filled with weird double speak. Facebook says that the section “covers information and content that’s shared between you and others on Facebook. This includes relationships (shared between you and the person you’re in the relationship with), interests, and photos you’re tagged in. These settings let you control who sees this information on your actual profile. However, it may still be visible in other places unless you remove it from your profile itself.” (My emphasis added.)

Facebook’s continued efforts to give users control over their privacy is admirable, but the site has a bad track record of clearly articulating new changes. What are “other places”? What do they mean by “remove”? If you take a picture down from your profile, does that mean it won’t still appear on a friend’s profile? Average Facebook users do not have the time or inclination to figure these settings out themselves and Facebook should have learned from its previous privacy settings debacle to have clearer communication in place.

Will Facebook Privacy Affect Attorney General Race?

Former Facebook executive Chris Kelly is hoping to become the next Attorney General of California, but will Facebook’s privacy issues tarnish his image among voters? An article in the San Francisco Chronicle discusses how Kelly cites his Facebook experience as a positive attribute, while others wonder if it might not be a negative one.

Ten Countries Appeal to Google Over Privacy Concerns

Google is again catching international heat over its privacy policies. According to the Wall Street Journal, officials from 10 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom) sent Google executives a joint letter asking the technology company to build more privacy protections for users. The letter implies that Google is more interested in its technology than its users saying, “Privacy cannot be sidelined in the rush to introduce new technologies to online audiences around the world.”

Facebook Has 41% of Social Media Audience, LinkedIn and Twitter Growing

According to research from comScore, Facebook commands 41% of the social media audience online. That is no surprise considering the site boasts a userbase numbering more than 400 million strong. Another interesting discovery from the research was a significant increase in the number of people using the professional social networking website LinkedIn. This suggests that social media users are becoming more savvy about personal branding online.