Google Buzz and Me
Google Buzz appeared in the Gmail inboxes of millions of users last week. Does it matter? I’m not sure it does.
I’ve used it a little bit. I hooked my Twitter posts, blog posts, Flickr account and a few other things to Google Buzz, so anyone who’s following me will see those items in their Buzz stream. And I’ve seen other people’s blog posts and photos in there, too. I’ve even occasionally commented on things through Buzz.
And of course, you can post directly on Buzz, too. It’s similar to posting a status update on Twitter or Facebook, but there’s no length limitation as far as I know.
I’ve posted and commented on a few of these updates, but these have mainly been updates about Buzz. I’m still posting my everyday updates on Twitter and Facebook rather than on Buzz.
There is a convenience factor to getting updates about people’s blog posts, photos, shared items on Google Reader, etc., right in my inbox. But I already get these updates elsewhere. I read blogs through Google Reader. I look at photos on Facebook and occasionally on Flickr. Or people post their photos and links to their blog posts on Twitter. So Buzz doesn’t provide me with anything I don’t already have.
If Buzz adds functionality for more web services, like Delicious, WordPress.com, GoodReads, etc., I might be more interested. I already have a Friendfeed account, which aggregates these kinds of updates into one stream, but I only go there if Twitter isn’t working. If that kind of stream were right in my inbox, though, I’d probably use it.
Buzz in the workplace could also be interesting. I’ve heard that at some point, Google will integrate Buzz into Google Apps, which my workplace already uses for email, websites, calendars, documents, etc. Having a Buzz system available for workplace conversations could be useful; Twitter isn’t really conducive to communicating within a certain group.
For now, though, I might just ignore the Buzz.
This post has 2 comments
February 17th, 2010
Hey Kathy, I think you’re spot on that its best use case isn’t public, but private. Unfortunately Buzz falls down on providing easy ways to keep particular conversations going, and things lose context quickly.
For an alternative, you (or your readers interested in Buzz) might be interested in checking out Shareflow — the app we built at Zenbe (before Buzz and even Wave). We think of it as a much simpler, more usable, more focused way of having private discussions around a topic.
You can try it at http://www.getshareflow.com. I’d love to hear your or any of your readers’ thoughts on it!
Jay : )
February 19th, 2010
I like that it is through google so that I don’t have to open up another account some place. However, I don’t like the “public-ness” of it. I suppose that if I can figure out how to work it with sending the same item to a group of people, then it would be great for family and select friends. I can see myself using BUZZ to send all three of my kids some kind of message and then the four of us would be able to see each other’s comments. That would be easier than emails back and forth, especially since my kids always forget to hit REPLY ALL!
On my end, the jury’s still out on BUZZ.
.-= Corina´s last blog ..The Hershey Bar =-.