February 11, 2010, 9:01 PM — I've been savaging Google Buzz, mainly on my Google Buzz feed. Most of my criticisms have been about the Buzz implementation, and why it's not going to help Google achieve its goal of taking away leadership in social traffic from Twitter and Facebook any time soon. Mistakes were made.
But none of that matters for you and me. The question is this: Should we use Google Buzz? I think the answer for many of us, including myself, is: absolutely yes.
For those who already use Gmail, Buzz is a really nice addition. It brings threaded messages right into Gmail. It's easy to ignore the stream of posts. But if someone specifies you as someone they want to read it (say, they're replying to something you posted), it shows up in your Gmail inbox so you won't miss it.
Also: If you find it hard to follow threads on Twitter, Buzz is easier to follow threads on. If you like interacting with friends and family on Facebook, but hate all the Mafia Wars and other such application spam, Buzz gives you the interaction without the gimmicks. And finally, if you're trying to build a community around your business, your extended family or the public at large, and find that people just wander away from Twitter, Buzz is much "stickier" because users are constantly reminded that messages are there to be read.
There is a long list of other features in Google Buzz that make it superior to Twitter or Facebook. For example, you can edit posts long after you've posted them. Messages are unlimited in length, as far as I can tell, which isn't the case with Facebook, and definitely isn't the case with Twitter. Pictures are shown nearly full screen, rather than shrunk down. You can post pictures by e-mail by simply sending an e-mail from your Gmail account to buzz@gmail.com.
So is Buzz right for you? There's really only one way to find out: Try it. And when you do, make sure you add me as a friend. I'll be continuing to explore this new world of social networking, and I'll share what I've learned on Google Buzz itself. See you there.
