Google's Anti-Buzz

Image by dpstyles™ via Flickr

If you're wondering why I haven't chimed in on Google Buzz, it would be because I'm not really sure what to make of it.  Like many, I started to play with it when it was available, but even a week or so on, I'm still not sure where Buzz sits in the social landscape.

It aims to do a couple of things right, like aggregate your friends/contacts/social feeds.  But then it does a couple of functional things wrong, like making it a part of Gmail, and not having an easy way to view your followers Buzz feed outside of your Gmail page.  Of course there is also all the privacy issues, but if the product doesn't work or isn't functional, then no one will be using it, and the privacy issues will go away.

Buzz thinks that we want to follow the activities of those in your address book.  The problem with that is that my address book is full of clients and family and such.  Or to put it more clearly, full of people in which I have absolutely no interest in their online activities.  The few that I am actually interested in, I follow them on Twitter or Facebook.

Is it just me or is Buzz a copy of Friendfeed, albeit a bad copy? I'm not the only one asking that question, and I would be interested to know if Friendfeed has been getting more interest as a result.  I know that I have taken another look, as Friendfeed still has the best functionality when it comes to "the conversation" and getting involved in it.

Regardless of this, it looks like Google has a failure on its hands, despite them having an almost instant audience.  The big lesson here is that there needed to be a Beta logo on it, until you have the mind share.  This makes me wonder what Google have waiting in the wings that made them try and force Buzz.  

Jason Remnant

...if it's not Broken, then where is the button to turn it off???