This guest post is contributed by Shannon Wills, she writes on the topic of Internet Provider . She welcomes your comments at her email id: shannonwills23@gmail.com.
It made its appearance with much fanfare, but unlike many other Google products, Buzz has failed to stake a claim in the world of social media. It was announced as an alternative to Twitter and Facebook, two social networks that are taking the world by storm today. Anyone who is net savvy has a presence on either one or both of these networks, and Google aspired to grab a share of this market with Buzz. But unfortunately for them, the new application failed miserably and people are no longer buzzing about Buzz (unless it is to talk about how Google has bitten the dust again), and the reasons are:
(1) Google is too late to the social network party:
Yes, there was something called Orkut, (I wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t heard of it), but the fact is that it just did not take off as well as it should have. And with Facebook soaring in popularity, most users of Orkut just moved over to Mark Zuckerberg’s playground without hesitation. They either deleted their Orkut accounts, or because they still used Gmail, they leave their accounts inactive. Now while I do admit that Gmail wins the best email service award hands down, I cannot say the same about Orkut. So with Buzz, the Google team decided to piggyback on the success of Gmail and tap into the aspects that made Facebook and Twitter so popular. But even so, I think most people who were into social networking were already on Facebook, Twitter, or both. And this is why Buzz got the lukewarm response it did.
(2) The integration into your email interface is too distracting:
Most people around the world use Gmail as their primary email service provider, and not many of them took kindly to the fact that every time you open your mailbox, you were greeted with status updates and notifications that you did not want to see. I mean, you already had a Facebook and/or Twitter account that did the same, so why would you want the same in your regular email as well? Social media is more for entertainment and keeping in touch with friends, and when you find that it has jumped into your inbox, it is an intrusion into your time and a major distraction of work. This is why people choose to disable Buzz (Google introduced the disable feature only after a lot of negative feedback) rather than have it invade their mailbox.
(3) You need a Gmail account to sign up:
One reason why Facebook and Twitter are so popular is that you don’t need a specific email provider to be able to sign up – you just provide them with your existing account details, and you’re in. But with Buzz, you need a Gmail account, and if you’re not a regular Gmail user, I don’t think you would want to sign up just to use Buzz. Not only do you have to manage another email account, you also have to find new contacts to interact with on Buzz. And it’s just not worth it when you have Facebook, Twitter, and various other social networks that are much more popular and which are bound to have many of your friends as users.
So there you have it, the three most important reasons why Buzz is no longer buzzing as loudly as Google hoped it would.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Shannon, I think you have completely missed what Buzz is becoming. It is NOT like twitter or facebook, it is in fact turning into a great resource for proper communication. People are shutting down FB accounts because of the massive security issues there that seem to be coming to light every few days….
And this is where it loses the big names, they can’t just broadcast using Buzz. You have to actually sit down and communicate with people properly, not try and do it with 140 letters, not just preach. But have a proper conversation.
The community there is growing fast, Google is doing modifications to make Buzz more user friendly. I haven’t seen you anywhere on Buzz….
In fact Shannon, why don’t you go here and have a look https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kjeaaocmmfhiadjcmdpblbhikfeoabgi
People tried to get in touch with you via Buzz but it seems you don’t have it activated in your gmail account. No one has seen you on there. So when was it this testing was done?
I started using Buzz about a week or so ago after I deleted my Facebook account. Anybody can easily sign up for it simply by creating a Gmail account. It’s free! And not only do you get Buzz in your Gmail inbox, but you get all the other free Google products like Docs and Picasaweb, Calendar and more.
Buzz is great. It’s easy to use and intuitive. You simply search for topics that interest you, click on the Buzzer’s name, click the Follow button to follow them and immediately their buzzes show up in your Gmail Buzz account! You can comment on them by clicking the comment button, or you can simply like them. There’s lots of other cool things you can do with the buzzes by clicking the button in the upper right corer of each Buzz. Once you’ve liked or commented on something, the conversation begins! You will get a response emailed to your Gmail inbox (you can customize how you receive those responses in the settings area), which you can then comment on, like, or unlike. If you’re done with that buzz, you can click the “mute in inbox” link at the top. Easy peasey.
Have fun! Buzz is so easy to use, even my 10 year old gets it.
Of the major social networks, Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz, Buzz, by far, handles photos and imagery the most elegantly.
As a photographer this is important to me. Much, much more important to me than the minor limitations that you mention in your post.
While I was initially drawn to Buzz due to it’s superior way of handing images, I stayed for the conversations. The conversations on Buzz are far engaging, intelligent and richer than the comparable alternatives.
You have to sort of try Buzz for a while to understand this. But I believe that over time, building a better mousetrap will actually gain traction and momentum. The limitations that you site won’t matter.
I cannot maximize the use of Google Buzz. I have only few contacts in my gmail and most of them do not use Buzz. I think Buzz works only inside gmail environment alone unlike facebook or twitter that’s universal. IMO.