Google plunged into the world of social networking on Tuesday, melding pieces of Facebook and Twitter into a new feature called Google Buzz.
Buzz, which will work through the popular Gmail service, will allow users to post status updates, photos and links to members of their network — as well as pull in their activity on other sites like Twitter, Flickr, Google Reader and Picasa (no Facebook?).
Well we all knew that Google rules all the markets except one, Social Networking. Although they did try to make a name with Orkut but could succeed only in Brazil, India and few other parts of the world. And the fact that Facebook gained 400 Million users this week proves that Social Networking is still a massive market and Google has no intentions to give up on it.
Here’s what Buzz looks like. First, the text box. No obvious word limit, as far as I can see. You can easily fit more than Twitter.
Once you click in, you can add links, photos and decide whether or not you want a private or public Buzz.
But what exactly is Google Buzz?
Google buzz is a new Social Add-on to Google’s existing product Gmail which is used by masses. Used on a PC or mobile, Buzz reminds us of an RSS combined with all of your social networking—all within the existing Gmail and Google.com infrastructure.
Key features
- Automatic friends lists (friends are added automatically who you have emailed on Gmail)
- “Rich fast sharing” combines sources like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, and it includes full-sized photo browsing
- Public and private sharing (swap between family and friends)
- Inbox integration (instead of emailing you with updates, like Facebook might, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with all Buzz thread content, like the photo viewer we mentioned above)
- “Recommended Buzz” puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, even if you’re not acquainted. Recommendations learn over time with your feedback.
Google Buzz is available today, and it should creep up as a new tab in Gmail any minute. Said Google, “We’re still rolling out Buzz to everyone, so if you don’t see it in your Gmail account yet, check back soon”.
Everything here is real time, so no F5 required. Your content can be private or public, as simple as this.
Buzz also works on mobiles also right from Google.com on Android and iPhone browsers, and it locates your position from a one button press.
Meanwhile, Google Buzz slammed by Yahoo and Microsoft
Less than an hour after Google unveiled its new social network – Google Buzz, Yahoo and Microsoft took shots at their rival with both claiming that they’ve been running a similar service for years.
“Busy people don’t want another social network, what they want is the convenience of aggregation,” Microsoft said in a statement. “We’ve done that. Hotmail customers have benefited from Microsoft working with Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and 75 other partners since 2008.”
Yahoo tweeted a similar gibe.
“Two years after #Yahoo! launched #Buzz, Google follows suit. Check out the original: http://buzz.yahoo.com/”
Ouch.
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