Initial Thoughts On Google Buzz
Well it looks like Google sure named this product right. Buzz is the word about it. But I wonder. It’s definitely got the built-in user base to it. Very smart attaching it to Gmail. My Dad who uses Gmail might test Google Buzz but would probably have found no use for Twitter. Only because his friends and family are already Gmail users and he’s got instant follower base and a use for it – communicating with these connections. So in that respect it will grow exponentially. But I’m not sure about it over the long haul for several reasons. It has big pros going for it for sure but definite cons.
One is that it’s very similar to FriendFeed, which as we all know, didn’t catch on like Twitter. Another is that it’s not as well designed or as intuitive as Facebook. Lastly, it’s connected to all the Google services and blogs, etc. It’s a life stream. I have never really liked the lifestream concept very much. I think there is a niche of lifestreamers and the rest of us are on Twitter. Facebook is the big cheese when it comes to friends and family (for me at least) at it’s been invaluable at connecting me to long lost friends. LinkedIn has its special place for professional purposes and it’s quite useful in that respect.
I think after I use it more I may find a place for it but I doubt it.