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News & ArtsTuesday, February 9, 2010
Teh Internets Here Comes Google Buzz
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 11:43 AM
Mashable has the story on Google's latest attempt to turn Gmail into a social networking hub: Google Buzz. It's kind of confusing:
So, apparently, it's like Twitter, Google Wave, and Facebook all at once in your e-mail, and you can connect to Twitter (but not Facebok) with it. It remains to be seen if yet another interface is what the internet needs, but Google at least has an enormous captive audience. You can try Google Buzz right now; it's live in your Gmail.
3
I must not be one of the cool kids. I clicked on the "use Buzz in Gmail" link and got my regular old boring Gmail page. Unless Buzz is like "swing" and if you have to ask, you'll never know?
5
I also do not see it. There are a bunch of Gmail Labs features that seem to make up part of its functionality though...
6
I also do not see it. There are a bunch of Gmail Labs features that seem to make up part of its functionality though...
7
They're rolling it out over all accounts over the next several days.
I didn't have it earlier today, but now I do. However, I'm apparently the only one of my friends/followers/contacts/whatever to have it, so it's lonely thusfar.
I didn't have it earlier today, but now I do. However, I'm apparently the only one of my friends/followers/contacts/whatever to have it, so it's lonely thusfar.
8
The mobile interface seems to be live for everyone, though; try it on your smartphone (worked fine on my Droid).
Personally, I'm happy about this. I'm a big fan of Google Reader and enjoy sharing content that I find, but I always wish I could connect with my friends who see that shared content and start a conversation about it in an easy and natural way. This seems perfectly suited to that, with lots of other integration built on top.
Hopefully the integration into Gmail will bode better for the future of Buzz than the standalone Wave launch, which still has a lot of ground to cover to prove its promise.
Personally, I'm happy about this. I'm a big fan of Google Reader and enjoy sharing content that I find, but I always wish I could connect with my friends who see that shared content and start a conversation about it in an easy and natural way. This seems perfectly suited to that, with lots of other integration built on top.
Hopefully the integration into Gmail will bode better for the future of Buzz than the standalone Wave launch, which still has a lot of ground to cover to prove its promise.
9
Okay. Here's my quick review:
It's very one-way. Very, very one-way.
It's a complete content aggregator and not at all a place for posting or sharing fresh content. For example:
--It will import my Twitter messages, but I can't tweet from within it.
--It will re-post my Google Chat status messages, but I can't set my status from it.
--It will import my shared Google Reader items, but I can't import RSS feeds into it.
--It will reshare items posted to YouTube/Flickr/Picasa, but they still have to be posted using their original portals.
In other words, it does nothing to reduce the number of other sites I visit. And since, on all of those other sites, I already have a method of consuming/sharing the content there that I want to consume/share, why would I want it dumped into another place? Especially because the other sites that I already use, particularly Google Reader and Twitter, are already optimized for sorting, viewing, and processing the particular kind of content they provide, and when it's dumped into the one-size-fits-all of Buzz, it's much less elegant.
It very much reeks of the irritating services that allow people to link their Twitter and Facebook, so that if you follow somebody on both sites, you see duplicate content. Except with Buzz, it's EXCLUSIVELY duplicate content.
I am nonplussed. I like Wave better, frankly. Sorry, Google.
It's very one-way. Very, very one-way.
It's a complete content aggregator and not at all a place for posting or sharing fresh content. For example:
--It will import my Twitter messages, but I can't tweet from within it.
--It will re-post my Google Chat status messages, but I can't set my status from it.
--It will import my shared Google Reader items, but I can't import RSS feeds into it.
--It will reshare items posted to YouTube/Flickr/Picasa, but they still have to be posted using their original portals.
In other words, it does nothing to reduce the number of other sites I visit. And since, on all of those other sites, I already have a method of consuming/sharing the content there that I want to consume/share, why would I want it dumped into another place? Especially because the other sites that I already use, particularly Google Reader and Twitter, are already optimized for sorting, viewing, and processing the particular kind of content they provide, and when it's dumped into the one-size-fits-all of Buzz, it's much less elegant.
It very much reeks of the irritating services that allow people to link their Twitter and Facebook, so that if you follow somebody on both sites, you see duplicate content. Except with Buzz, it's EXCLUSIVELY duplicate content.
I am nonplussed. I like Wave better, frankly. Sorry, Google.
10
@9: You're underestimating the power of the automatic email integration. As a techie, I hate the HTML chat embedded in GMail, but it's really drawn a massive number of people into instant messaging who wouldn't otherwise have signed up.
This has incredible potential to grow due to the massive user base GMail has.
This has incredible potential to grow due to the massive user base GMail has.
11
@10 You're right--GChat is novel if you don't already use an IM client. And as @8 said, the fact that it dumps Google Reader shares into peoples' Buzzes such that non-Reader users are exposed to Reader is non-trivial.
Both of your points, succinctly, is that Buzz's actual target audience is a different type of internet user than me--one that doesn't already use more-appropriate sites for status updates, RSS feeds, chatting, and so forth. It's awesome for less tech-inclined people who think "RSS" sounds difficult, or that there's no benefit to real-time status updates, or that haven't figured out subscribing to channels/feeds/streams--people who still need to be gently eased into this millennium.
In other words, it's the iPad of social networking.
Both of your points, succinctly, is that Buzz's actual target audience is a different type of internet user than me--one that doesn't already use more-appropriate sites for status updates, RSS feeds, chatting, and so forth. It's awesome for less tech-inclined people who think "RSS" sounds difficult, or that there's no benefit to real-time status updates, or that haven't figured out subscribing to channels/feeds/streams--people who still need to be gently eased into this millennium.
In other words, it's the iPad of social networking.
12
I'm glad the big G finally filled in all the social networking problems with reader. Can't wait until they give me access... right now I feel snubbed ;)
13
Methinks Google just started acting like Microsoft. Chasing things others have already done is lame. Fail.
14
Oh HELL NO. I declined to ever join the Facebook and the Twitter for a reason or fifty.
Buzz is lame. Buzz . . off.
@13: their thing for red-gold-green-blue is the same. Repeat repeat repeat go get a snack.
Buzz is lame. Buzz . . off.
@13: their thing for red-gold-green-blue is the same. Repeat repeat repeat go get a snack.
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