HTC Smartphones, News & Web Design Tips

In February 2010 Google launched a new social network called Google Buzz. This has been viewed as Google’s venture to compete with Facebook and Twitter. We look at what Google Buzz does and what can it offer Business and Bloggers? This post looks at the social networking features and advantages and disadvantages of this social medium.

What does Google Buzz Offer?

In it’s simplest form the social networking service allows members (users) to share conversations, web links, photographs and video. The difference between other social media services is that the service is based around a users e-mail account. Once you have a Google e-mail account there is nothing to set-up  (i.e no  registration process).

Google Buzz Tools

• Status Updates – Similar to both Facebook and Twitter but your status updates also show fast high quality video and photographs.
• Service Integration – It is possible to connect to Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader and Twitter with your account.
• Real time Comments - Comments and Responses to your Videos, t etc are sent directly to your e-mail allowing you to reply in real-time and converse.
• Use of the @reply – As used in Twitter the @reply is used in comments with an e-mail address to notify a friend of some interesting content.
• Recommendations – show buzzes from people you don’t follow if your friends are sharing or commenting on that person’s buzz.
• Privacy – Possible to limit who views your content and updates to friends, groups and everyone.
• Mobile Technology – Uses mobile technology so it is possible to use on your mobile (Cell) phone.

Advantages Of Google Buzz

1. Integration with e-mail makes it easy to start if you are already a Google e-mail account holder, there is no registration process and you already have all your contacts connected to your e-mail.
2. Real time Comments are an excellent way to converse with potential customers, gain feedback or use as a customer service  tool.  Plus there is no character limit when conversing
3. High Quality Video and High Quality Large Images that integrate into your inbox are a bonus for users and for business who prefer easy access to and a more professional look for their content.
4. Use of the @reply adds another method to share content
5. Follow, Like, Star and Share features help to view and select more important content.
6. Can use the service as an Aggregator as it imports content from other social networking sites.
7. Works on the iPhone and Android mobile technologies, for updates on the move.
8. Use the maps feature to see where your contacts are located in your area. Conversation bubbles will appear on your Google Maps, they are geotagged buzz posts, which lets you see what people are saying nearby.

Disadvantages of Google Buzz

1. Connectivity to the big social media networks – Only certain services are allowed.  It is possible to connect to Twitter but you cannot Tweet (send messages) you can only receive updates.  No service  to Facebook,  LinkedIn or MySpace.For Business Microsoft Outlook connects to Social Networking services that Google does not.  The cost for a business to incorporate  G-mail to use the services offered by Google Buzz could be too high and swapping between accounts too time consuming.
2. Privacy Issues – Using your E-mail account may have business contacts or people you do not wish to converse with, mixing your e-mail contacts with social media could cause problems see Google Buzz Privacy
3. Google Buzz is a different concept to Facebook and Twitter by not having a central site or location to visit, this could be viewed as an advantage or disadvantage but can be strange for new users.

Do we use Google Buzz?

There are mixed opinions on the web with people who like the service and those originally not liking the service, changing opinion. Then there are those who frankly do not like Google Buzz. I have read comments from users who like Google Buzz because it seems to be a more mature service, focusing on content and not games, quizzes etc.

From a bloggers point of view a service, which helps to get your message out there to a bigger audience is great and should be used if you have the resources. For Small Business it is more complicated, and will depend on which e-mail client you use and which social networking sites you use and again resources.

It is still early days for Google Buzz and it is worth researching others users and businesses experiences to make an informed decision.  Facebook and Twitter had their critics when they first began and remember Gmail has over 150 million users (September 2009).