What's All The "Buzz" About

via youtube.com

Google launched a product called Buzz today, which has become available to many, but some remain in the dark as to when they will get the Google Social Networking medium integrated into their own Gmail accounts.

Why It Will Catch On -

Buzz is different than that other product that Google launched a few months ago that got a considerably higher audience...ahem, Wave. I feel like the vital flaw that Wave made was that it was 1. extremely slow when you had multiple collaborators and a 10+ page long wave, and 2. it was a completely new system, with a new interface that people need to adapt to. For some, this obstacle would cause them to give up and not even attempt to learn its function, but for others, a hyped up Google product is worth the 10 minutes of learning. Wave did a good job of describing how it was supposed to work and ultimately, how it would take over e-mail. Well, I don't know about you, but it hasn't really made that impression to me. The thing that Buzz does is integrate it within the Gmail client, so even if it doesn't make it to become its own separate product to battle with the likes of Twitter and Facebook, it will be easy to use and integrate into your daily routine.

Another cool thing about its functionality is that it allows you to incorporate all the cool ideas of Wave - almost instantaneously sharing pictures, video, text, and news - and integrating it into the Gmail system that everyone has learned to love. One thing that is probably done intentionally, but I wish it didn't, is create Google product exclusivity. Instead of making it only available to GMail users, why not extend it to Hotmail and Yahoo!Mail users. I'm sure this would get a lot more end users who probably wouldn't drop their entire email service/history with Yahoo! or MSN to check out a new product.

Another component that I like is that it will become fully mobile soon and with its own mobile interface, excluding other APIs, it will have a monopoly on the program that launches Buzz. This means that there will only be the GoogleBuzz application on the phones, not UberBuzz or BuzzPhon - I think. Furthermore, its location/geo-tagging capabilities make it really awesome for connecting with people in the area (as Google Latitude had done, but failed to draw attention). While this may be creepy, services like Gowalla, Foursquare, and now Yelp make geo-tagging even more popular and socially acceptable.

What Does This Mean for Twitter and Facebook -

I think Twitter and Facebook will still forever have a following. Buzz is a product that fits in between structured and "boring" email, if you will, and the excitement of social media. It gives you more control of who you contact and who is reading your buzz, which gives a stronger feeling of "security." I think it will catch on quite strong, but it won't take out the powerhouses of social media. It's just a good, all-around means to connect to your friends and share what you are doing/looking at.

Final Comments -

This is a great product introduced by Google. While it is essentially social networking/social media, it doesn't necessary emit that aura of Facebookiness because it doesn't seem to generate that "spamming viral video" effect that I think Twitter and Facebook do a good job with. I always seem to get and see random and useless things on Twitter, but Buzz will be about the things you want to see and the people you want to hear from. It's active limitations make it a good product, but one in its own realm.

Grade - A- (Overall)

For more, check out TechCrunch and Mashable on the latest developments. This is one of my favorites from Mashable, though I know there are more to come: http://mashable.com/2010/02/09/google-buzz-reactions/

Posted via web from boochikan's posterous