Can Google Buzz With 'Buzz'?

If you thought Social Networking site Facebook and micro-blogging site Twitter had no competition think again. Internet giant Google Inc. has ventured into the territory and launched 'Google Buzz'. The California based giant which has been loosing out to Twitter and Facebook in the recent months is back on the Social Networking platform. This is Google's boldest attempt to build a social network after it had gone live with Orkut in 2004.

Google's official blog said “Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting. It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch — it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most."

What it does

Google Buzz will allow users to quickly share messages, web links and photos with friends within its popular email service GMail. It will work similar to Twitter but will be integrated with the GMail Inbox. Buzz also comes with a built-in circle of friends, which will be automatically selected by Google based on the people that a user communicates with most frequently in GMail and GTalk.

Google Buzz will also allow users to choose between sharing their posts publicly with the world or privately to a small group of friends. It has also taken a giant step by integrating applications like Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, and Twitter on it. The integration of Twitter comes as a surprise as Google plans to take it on with 'Buzz'.

The Need

Although Google's product line included an impressive Social Networking site like Orkut, the fact remains it never captured markets beyond Brazil and India. The growing popularity of MySpace and Facebook especially the later's due to millions of apps has been worrying Google. Although it tried imitating Facebook in the new version of Orkut the market response hasn't been very encouraging for Google.

Also the growing popularity of micro-blogging site Twitter has attracted Google. From celebrities to politicians and from tech geeks to ordinary people everybody seems to have been bitten by the Twitter bug. It is too much of a lucrative territory for Google to watch sitting across the bank. Google Buzz integrates the best of Social Networking and Micro Blogging.

Advantages

The biggest advantage of Google Buzz is that it would help tackle the problem of information overload. The Internet giant claims to have worked on algorithms to help people find the information most relevant to them. This claim surely holds a lot of ground as it comes from a company which redefined how we search on the Internet.

Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google said that by offering social communications, which have primarily been used for entertainment purposes, Buzz would bridge the gap between work and leisure. It has also integrated Buzz into the mobile phones, through a mobile Web site and will provide Google mapping application. Users will be able to see updates that friends have posted from particular spots.

Challenges

Many critics are already raising doubts about the timing of Google Buzz. They feel that Google might have opened its eyes a bit too late. Twitter has become pretty much the status quo as far as real-time updates and similarly Facebook is still keeping users busy with its numerous applications. How can Google ensure mass migration from such popular sites. It is a known fact that most individuals dislike to be active on too many social platforms.

In the end it is too early to predict the future of Google Buzz. Had such a thing come out of nowhere people would have written an obituary of it but Buzz comes from Google which has a cult following among it's users. Let us not forget how Google Chrome browser took over an overwhelming market share just days into its launch. It remains to be seen if Google can buzz with 'Buzz'.