Why do I need or want a new social network? Like you, 400 million users of Facebook are asking the same question. Making a belated entry in the social networking circle, Google has officially launched the ‘Buzz’. With the interesting note, ‘Go beyond Status messages’, Google has made Gmail Social. To keep buzzing in the market Google is laying a bet on two of its strong points, Gmail users can create a network from their contacts only and second exploiting its own search know how to flood the data into networking pages.
Google’s earlier venture in the field of online friendships like Orkut, and a Jaiku, a Twitter-like service, has not been widely popular. Buzz looks like Google’s latest foray in the social hub to keep up with the social trends of networking. The inbox integration is the key feature of Google Buzz and the content can flow from the web pages linked like Picasa, Twitter, Flickr. The kind of simplicity Google brags that users need not persuade friends or contacts to join them or follow like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn has become the strong reason for its criticism regarding privacy issues. Google still has to formulate the BUZZ privacy for the users to be shifting to this new ‘buzz’ word soon.
Talking to the youth brigade proved to be quite interesting as each one had something new to add. Ashish Asopa, an advertising student, talked about Google Buzz as “buzzing all around to threaten books on faces and tweets on cases.” Kedar Tadkod, a Public Relation trainee, voices strong opinion for Google BUZZ, “It will surely make Twitter redundant but it’s not as big as Facebook. The options and the Interface available in Facebook along with games and other interactive gadgets makes Facebook stand firm on its ground. If Buzz comes with a standalone option, say, only for mobiles, it will be much more popular. Popularity is one thing, and it being integrated into the software is another. You mean to say all internet users who use Windows use IE Explorer?”
Google in its blog talks about how the mobile version of Buzz is much more than it’s desktop version. In addition to adding reviews and tips, there is an important mobile component of sharing the location. This geeky-cool feature talks about our location when you shared something on the social network. Along with that the most interesting concept is of Buzz layer on Google maps were public buzz will be seen as push pins on the map near the user’s location. Neeyati Shah, a young communication professional, adds that “Google Buzz looks like another attempt to match up to competition. However, its lacklustre user interface may deter the speed with which it catches up with its well-established competitor. Google Wave, on the other hand, may well be an exciting medium for next-generation communication.”
Till then let’s wait and watch, if there will be any mass shift from Facebook to Google and will it be Buzz on or off.