Hype or Hot: Google Buzz Impressions

Okay, so after chomping at the bit for damned near all of Wednesday afternoon waiting to get Google Buzz, I finally saw the multicolored thought bubble underneath my Inbox tab, I was ready. Like Google’s Blog said, it’s pretty much a breeze to use. Once I clicked on the Buzz tab, I was instructed to create a profile which took all of 5 minutes to create. I just added my photo, scrolled down and added a few folks I wanted to follow and boom! I was up and ready to go.

Being the social networking maven that I am, I gave Buzz access to my twitter feed, blog, Picasa, Flickr, GChat status update, and Google Reader. One social networking site that’s conspicuously absent from the list is Facebook. It can’t be a coincidence that Google launches Buzz around the same time Facebook unveils its new site design.

By now, unless you’ve been on a tech news blackout, you know that the application has been described as a more intuitive FriendFeed. And that’s a pretty good assessment, but an even better one would be a more accessible version of Google Wave. As I check out my buzz feed, I’m loving that the feed pulls out the content that you want to read and hides the stuff you don’t. I also like the convenience of having buzz updates shot to my email, but at the same time, I’m only following a few folks. This could get annoying if I followed more than 20 people. Similar to Facebook you can like or comment on a piece of content. And in a shout to Twitter, Buzz is presented in a Twitter-like stream. Where Buzz differs from its social networking compatriots is its ability to learn. Through the apps feedback button, you can teach Buzz what to display or what not to display. There are no character limits so you can be as verbose as you please.

Google gets brownie points for its fast reaction time to user complaints. When rumblings of privacy issues reared their ugly head, the company quickly added the public/private option that allows people to choose who they share their content with. Another improvement is the ability to block who follows your Buzz feed which is great because there was at least one person on my Buzz that I won’t be speaking to unless Hell freezes over and the devil is down there doing triple-axles.

Overall, Buzz is cool, but I don’t see this causing any real threat to Twitter or Facebook right now. It’s annoying to have to switch out of my inbox to see my buzz feed. Google is going to have to come up with a widget so people can use Buzz whether or not their in their Gmail. In my honest opinion Google Buzz is more Hype than Hot, but with a few tweaks, it can become more than Google’s shiny new toy.

About the Author
Sherri is a freelance writer that has a love of all things fun and geeky including gadgets, gaming, anime, and comics. When she isn't writing or out on the town living it up, she loves doing 10-12 hour marathon sessions on her Xbox 360 or one of her older consoles. It's not an addiction, it's a way of life!
See all posts by Sherri L. Smith.