As if there haven’t already been a couple of 1000s reviews of the newly announced Google Buzz, I thought I’d give my 10 cents for everyone that don’t really care what my opinion is. Up front, for those who aren’t aware, Google announced what is their answer to the social network to compete/work alongside Facebook, Twitter, etc. Google Buzz is being implemented as a communication tool inside Google’s Gmail service, giving a one stop shop for communication, allowing people to follow status messages and updates of their fellow friends right inside their inbox. I haven’t had the chance to see this in practice as I haven’t been lucky enough to have Buzz activated within my Gmail account yet, but like many other users, I’m patiently waiting the next few days for it to be activated. I have however, accessed the mobile version of Google Buzz, available to iPhone and Android owners.
First reactions: I like it. Where I’m already familiar with the layout and feel of google’s mobile apps, its almost like a friendly welcome. To access the site, for me an iPhone owner, all I had to do was point my browser to buzz.google.com and away we went! Posting and reading posts of people you follow are both fairly simple and familiar for people that already use other social sites. The interesting thing regarding posts you make from your phone is that additional information regarding your location is included in the post, incorporating Google Maps. (Great for me who posted from “unknown road” in Mount Vernon, KY).
Google Buzz also incorporates other sites like Flickr and Picasa, along with “some” integration with Twitter. Will Google Buzz take the world by storm? Doubtful. Will it have a big buzz like Google Wave and slowly fade out? Possibly, but its too early to tell. Is it late to the game? Definitely!! The only argument I’d have for that, is that Google was late to the game with email compared to Hotmail and Yahoo! and in my opinion is the best option out there currently. Will Buzz follow suit? Only time and integration will tell, but with Twitter’s popularity fading and leveling off, Google has a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time. The only hang up I currently see is something that might be more isolated then I realize, but for myself and my social circle, the adaption of Gmail hasn’t been very strong, with people holding onto their original Hotmail or Yahoo! accounts, so for myself, very few followers along with very few friends to follow. Is it like that for everyone? Hard to say, but doubtful. Regardless, Google Buzz is the current toy for geeks to play with and rave about or complain about until the next thing rolls around.
Note: You can follow my Google Buzz page at http://www.google.com/profiles/michaelparsons18