Reaching a verdict on Google Buzz
SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues.
Last week’s poll question: Do you think Google Buzz poses a threat to Facebook or Twitter?
- The buzz on Buzz will die down soon. 38.03%
- It could pose a threat, but uncertain whether it will. 24.79%
- It is not a threat, but a complementary service. 23.93%
- Buzz poses a threat to Twitter, but not to Facebook. 7.69%
- Buzz does pose a threat to both. 5.56%
I’m going to weigh in on the side of those who see Buzz as a complementary service. It’s going to find a significant place in the social media spectrum and here’s why: Sites such as Mashable and Techcrunch have already built in the capability to share content via Buzz, similar to the way it’s done with Facebook and Twitter.
Others will follow suit, and its impact will only continue to spread, especially once mainstream news sites pick it up. Not only that, Google is continuing to open up the API, enabling even greater forms of integration.
I’m finding Buzz to be useful as a replacement for Twitter, believe it or not. For me, Twitter is becoming less a tool for conversation and more a tool for broadcast-style announcement and information sharing. The 140 character limit always crimped my style when interacting with others. Buzz enforces no such character limitation.
Some may suggest that Buzz’s access being constrained to those who use Gmail may limit its use. That’s understandable. On the other hand, I find that the integration with Gmail makes it inherently more useful. And, there is the iPhone app as well.
Despite the naysayers, I think the future for Buzz is bright. Agree or disagree?
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Tags: google buzz, links, social media, twitter
Categories: Polls
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Posted by @dcoates on March 4th, 2010 at 4:26 am
I certainly don't see why Buzz can't replace Twitter. Think about it: what percentage of people who use Twitter have a Google account (keep in mind that you can have a Google account without a gmail account).
Now look at the number of actives on gmail vs actives on Twitter and you get 10 to 15 million for Twitter ( http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9148878/Tw... ), whereas I've heard up to 170 million for gmail.
It's looking increasingly like Twitter is that service that opens the door for the eventual market leader (see: Friendster–>Facebook).
Posted by Dennis Hettema on March 4th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I completely agree with your observations. As soon as Buzz introduces OAuth so that developers can really get going with it I think another boom will happen. Currently we have to hack around to offer our services which limits our possibilities and because of that limits the user experience.