The NewSense

11 February, 2010

As expected Google has at last released its new Product, Google Buzz. A new social network. Google buzz allows users update status, share web links or photos with colleagues directly via e-mail service Google, Gmail. Google of course hopes that more and more users using Gmail and attract users Facebook and Twitter. Google Buzz technology-similar to a key feature in Facebook or Twitter. Google Buzz will be enjoyed by all Gmail users. Currently, Gmail is the e-mail service popular world number three after Windows Live Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. Integration with existing social networks is critical for Buzz’s success — especially Facebook. Buzz can enjoy significant success without Facebook integration. When Google unveiled Buzz, it announced that the application will share your Twitter updates with your Buzz followers. That’s great news, but you won’t be as thrilled to learn that (at least at launch) there will be no integration with Facebook at all.

When you post a new tweet using Twitter, Google can import that tweet and send it out to your Buzz followers with the rest of your Buzz updates. You won’t have to jump through any hoops or use any back-door methods to make it happen. Twitter is officially supported by Buzz — the same is true of Flickr,Picasa,Blogger and You Tube. However, you won’t be able to publish out to Twitter using Buzz, which makes this all seem less useful. And since Buzz won’t aggregate tweets from your Twitter, you’ll still have to keep both Twitter and Buzz open to reach all your contacts across both networks. That’s disappointing, but it’s no where near as disappointing as Buzz’s completely nonexistent relationship with Facebook. While Buzz and Twitter have some connectivity, there’s none at all between Buzz and Facebook. Buzz doesn’t import your Facebook status updates. It doesn’t post updates to your Facebook feed. It doesn’t display your friends’ feed updates. There’s no Facebook connect  integration at all.

Google is going to have a difficult time building a user base when everyone who has a Facebook is concerned that they can’t see their friends’ updates. They’ll have to keep using Facebook to stay in touch with their Facebook friends.

With more than 400 million users, Facebook is the world’s largest social network; Twitter by contrast has only 18 million or so. Gmail’s unique visitors numbered around 36million as of last year. Clearly, Facebook is dominating. Google is attempting to challenge that dominance with Buzz, but Facebook is at the same time planning to move just as aggressively into Google’s territory. It was recently discovered that Facebook will eventually launch its own web mail service. The service would offer users e-mail addresses ending in @facebook.com. Facebook would become the largest web mail provider overnight. If the service is functional enough, it could threaten Google’s Gmail. People will be able to comfortably make the switch because they won’t lose the ability to e-mail their Gmail contacts — even if they move to another mail provider.

So the race for social network has started with buzz. But it is too late for google buzz. Face off with facebook will be interesting to watch. The twitter is getting killed now by this buzz and its tweets will be hardly heard. Let us wait till facebook launches its email service then I bet Google’s buzz will be reduced to tweet.