Comments on: All the Buzz…or Not :: Google’s Feeble Attempt at Social Media http://www.robbypayne.com/all-the-buzz-or-not-googles-feeble-attempt-at-social-media/ musings on faith, life, and the continual collision of the two Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:56:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Revisiting Google Buzz :: How’s Your Experience Been? :: Faith in the Frameworks | Robby Payne | Blog http://www.robbypayne.com/all-the-buzz-or-not-googles-feeble-attempt-at-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-181 Revisiting Google Buzz :: How’s Your Experience Been? :: Faith in the Frameworks | Robby Payne | Blog Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:25:06 +0000 http://www.robbypayne.com/?p=587#comment-181 [...] found myself in the midst of a couple conversations about Google Buzz today and thought that my post on the subject could use a revisit.  Hop over and read it if you haven’t already, and then [...] [...] found myself in the midst of a couple conversations about Google Buzz today and thought that my post on the subject could use a revisit.  Hop over and read it if you haven’t already, and then [...]

]]> By: Robby http://www.robbypayne.com/all-the-buzz-or-not-googles-feeble-attempt-at-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-134 Robby Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:22:54 +0000 http://www.robbypayne.com/?p=587#comment-134 Thanks for the feedback, Mike. I'm with you on the Google Wave front. I think it has the ability to do great things, but is a bit abstract and, once again, a bit late. It's funny, from what I've read so far, the Gmail integration has been confusing for people. Seems to make sense to me, but who knows? I think using Gmail as the vehicle was prompted by a guaranteed audience from the jump. Millions of users forced to, in a basic way, use the service. From what I understand, there is no turning it off or getting rid of it. The point: Gmail users and lovers are stuck with this in the side bar for the time being. Another point worth mentioning is Facebook's plan to integrate a full-blown email server. Yep, robby.n.payne@facebook.com will exist in a very short time, slicing heavily into Google's customer base. I think that is the real reason Google is doing this Buzz thing...panic. As the article I read at Mashable.com said: "Codenamed Project Titan, the service would offer users e-mail addresses ending in @facebook.com. Facebook would become the largest webmail provider overnight. If the service is functional enough, it could threaten Google’s Gmail. People will be able to comfortably make the switch because they won’t lose the ability to e-mail their Gmail contacts — even if they move to another mail provider." And the final blow was this well-put point: "Facebook is threatening Google, but Google isn’t threatening Facebook because it doesn’t offer any features so great that they incentivize people to leave behind their existing networks or spend their time updating and following yet another one when their friends are already all on Facebook or Twitter. Facebook now dominates the social web so completely that it’s difficult to imagine an exodus to a competing service, unless that service offered some revolutionary new features that Facebook couldn’t possibly match — Buzz doesn’t." Ouch... Thanks for the feedback, Mike. I’m with you on the Google Wave front. I think it has the ability to do great things, but is a bit abstract and, once again, a bit late. It’s funny, from what I’ve read so far, the Gmail integration has been confusing for people. Seems to make sense to me, but who knows? I think using Gmail as the vehicle was prompted by a guaranteed audience from the jump. Millions of users forced to, in a basic way, use the service. From what I understand, there is no turning it off or getting rid of it. The point: Gmail users and lovers are stuck with this in the side bar for the time being.

Another point worth mentioning is Facebook’s plan to integrate a full-blown email server. Yep, robby.n.payne@facebook.com will exist in a very short time, slicing heavily into Google’s customer base. I think that is the real reason Google is doing this Buzz thing…panic. As the article I read at Mashable.com said: “Codenamed Project Titan, the service would offer users e-mail addresses ending in @facebook.com. Facebook would become the largest webmail provider overnight. If the service is functional enough, it could threaten Google’s Gmail. People will be able to comfortably make the switch because they won’t lose the ability to e-mail their Gmail contacts — even if they move to another mail provider.”

And the final blow was this well-put point: “Facebook is threatening Google, but Google isn’t threatening Facebook because it doesn’t offer any features so great that they incentivize people to leave behind their existing networks or spend their time updating and following yet another one when their friends are already all on Facebook or Twitter. Facebook now dominates the social web so completely that it’s difficult to imagine an exodus to a competing service, unless that service offered some revolutionary new features that Facebook couldn’t possibly match — Buzz doesn’t.”

Ouch…

]]> By: Mike Steele http://www.robbypayne.com/all-the-buzz-or-not-googles-feeble-attempt-at-social-media/comment-page-1/#comment-133 Mike Steele Thu, 11 Feb 2010 11:53:52 +0000 http://www.robbypayne.com/?p=587#comment-133 My initial thoughts on Buzz are very similar to yours...a bit disappointed. A few things that I do like- 1. It narrows down my friends list to people I really want to follow-minus the farm, fishes, horoscopes,, etc. (I guess twitter does this as well) 2. It integrates within Gmail as a running thread (huge IMO) with capability to reply (Facebook recently started doing this as well) A couple of confusion points for me are- 1. Why would Google introduce Buzz within the Gmail world as opposed to GWave? If the plan is for Wave to replace email, IM, social networking, and all of the above--this seems like a step backward. BTW - I think that Wave has the potential to do more than all of the social networking combined if it develops properly...different topic though. :) 2. I know that Google has always went the route of functionality over beauty...but seriously--spice it up a bit! Getting people to switch from Facebook to Buzz will require much more than good function. Thanks for the post! My initial thoughts on Buzz are very similar to yours…a bit disappointed. A few things that I do like-

1. It narrows down my friends list to people I really want to follow-minus the farm, fishes, horoscopes,, etc. (I guess twitter does this as well)

2. It integrates within Gmail as a running thread (huge IMO) with capability to reply (Facebook recently started doing this as well)

A couple of confusion points for me are-

1. Why would Google introduce Buzz within the Gmail world as opposed to GWave? If the plan is for Wave to replace email, IM, social networking, and all of the above–this seems like a step backward.

BTW – I think that Wave has the potential to do more than all of the social networking combined if it develops properly…different topic though. :)

2. I know that Google has always went the route of functionality over beauty…but seriously–spice it up a bit! Getting people to switch from Facebook to Buzz will require much more than good function.

Thanks for the post!

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