On Dec. 14, Google’s RSS feed reader application, Google Reader, introduced a new way for Google-defined “friends” to see your “shared” feed items. At that point, the feature caused this reporter to blow a fuse, because I realized Reader was letting competing bloggers automatically see my shared feed items.

Then, only a couple of others wondered about the move. But this past week, more fuses have been blowing, as Reader users discovered that business competitors, politically sensitive relatives, ex-lovers and others were getting access to items that Reader users thought they were only sharing with selected confidantes.

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