Open Your Mind to Google Buzz
It was only a matter of time before the Google powers that be decided to delve into the social networking spectrum. Enter Google Buzz. With pre-existing rock solid services such as Google Reader, Picasa, G-Mail, and G-Chat, Google’s got all the tools to take on father Facebook and Twitter.
So, before you rifle down to the comments to spew negativity about how Google owns too much or whine about how there’s no room in the social networking realm for another platform, stop and think about the rock-solid services that Google provides.
SERVICE SLEW
For starters, RSS readers, desktop proprietary or web, pale in comparison to Google Reader. Google Reader gives it’s users a way to scour the web, quickly, efficiently, and fluidly. With Google Reader, abilities for social networking (liking, sharing, starring, etc.) have been already standing for some time. It’s just the nerds who were primarily familiar with it. For those not familiar with RSS, we’ve got a how-to on the way here soon.
In 2004 Google acquired Picasa, an application for managing your photos both online and offline. In a lot of respects, it’s similar to Flickr, but a couple pegs down the popularity pole. And compared to Facebook’s proprietary image management, or Twitter’s make-shift services, Picasa is far more powerful.
Then of course G-Mail came along, which was hailed as a web phenomenon in its own right. Upon its debut Google offered a unprecedented 2 GB. of storage which at the time when floppy’s were still in use, was unheard of.
Additionally, after G-Mail’s 2004 launch, a year later Google unveiled Google Talk, which today is affectionately known as G-Chat. Albeit a browser-based chat client, over the course of the last 5 years, G-Chat has evolved into a full-fledged messenger client capable of even video conferencing and able to be run in third party applications.
SO NOW WHAT?
Communication? Check.
Web Browsing Management? Check.
Image Sharing? Check.
Now Google has built (and bought) the foundation for a social networking powerhouse from the top down, as opposed to Facebook or Twitter, whom started from the ground up. That being said, cue Google Buzz, a service that amalgamates the proverbial all-star Google services into a newly christened social network.
SO WHAT DOES IT DO?
It ties all the Google services together and publishes it to one profile. For example: commenting, starring, or liking stories via Google Reader publishes them to your Buzz feed. Set your G-Chat status and it gets fed to the buzz feed as well. Upload, comment, or share pictures via Picasa, the changes get buzz’d.
Basically if you’ve been using Google applications as a means to survive on the web, you now have the ability to share everything seamlessly and fluidly. No shortening URL’s, pasting story links, 140 character limits, nothing. Google Buzz simply connects the dots.
It takes your current G-Mail contacts then automatically populates a Buzz list so to speak. The best part? It’s natural friend selection. The only people on my G-Chat list are those whom I’m actually in contact with, have exchanged e-mails with, and know well.
So in essence, Google is natural friend selection, Darwin would be proud. The only friends that survive to make my buzz feed are those who I’m actually in contact with, exchange e-mails with, and personally know. This is all opposed to Facebook’s knee-jerk, add anyone you’ve seen in the last 10 years reaction and or Twitter’s almost stalker following terminology.
SO THEN WHAT’S THE BUZZ WITH BUZZ?
For some reason unbeknown to me, people everywhere think Google is watching their every move, archiving their deepest and darkest secrets. Well, they are, and so is any damn site you choose to use or visit. Do they use that information for anything but autonomously feeding you ads relevant to your history? No.
With 10,000 employees and a company to run, Google doesn’t care about its users strange web affinities. If people are so concerned about them in the first place, maybe they should step back and take a look at what they’re viewing in the first place. That stuff is illegal in most states anyways.
Furthermore, don’t get mad at Google for innovating. Things succeed for a reason, Google has revolutionized the way we view the web, whether you like it or not. The fact that they continue to push for innovation, new methods, and try out new concepts is a testament to why they’re successful in the first place.
SHOULD YOU SWITCH?
If you have to ask yourself that question, chances are Google Buzz isn’t for you (yet). Those utilizing Google’s application suites will find this to be a welcomed addition and a useful way to share content without the flipping back and forth between sites and platforms.
The last thing we ask you, is don’t be one of those Google naysayers or whiners. Respect new ideas and keep an open mind. So if you have a Google account, and are interested, they started rolling out Buzz access just today so keep an open eye.
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