Yesterday, Jeremiah Owyang of Web Strategy published a blog post that weighed in on his opinion of the freshly released “Google Buzz.”
So what is Google Buzz? Google’s answer to social networks like Twitter and Facebook that attempts to incorporate and aggregate the chatter on all existing social networks. Many users have compared the feed that is aggregated and shared on Google Buzz similar to FriendFeed or the Facebook homepage feed. Google Buzz sits upon the email powerhouse of Gmail, not to mention the most popular website in the world, Google.
Owyang offers a detailed matrix that compares and contrasts Google Buzz, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Most notably, Owang points out that Google Buzz is late to the party, but has potential to integrate the entire internet, while Facebook has gained traction with Facebook connect. The clearcut competition in social networks seems like it may come down to a faceoff between Facebook and Buzz, since many have predicted Twitter to be a commodity that will be integrated into everything. The real competition will not exist until Buzz gets enough users to sign up and use the service. Facebook, which already has 400 million active users, is starting in the lead.
While Buzz was released to a public full of high expectations, users were fast to scrutinize the privacy flaws of the content aggregator. A Fox news article reported that Buzz users were automatically opted in to allow others to see who their email and chat contacts are. Google responded by making the opt out option for sharing contacts more clear, but many are still weary of the system’s privacy.
The Future of Google Buzz is unclear, however Owywang suggests that Buzz is quick to integrate into Chrome and Search to leverage the information and consumers that Google already possesses. Facebook is urged to become more open and reward users for sharing public information. However, Facebook’s so-called “Titan” email project could be a game changer…
