By Carly
Google recently confirmed Internet rumors that they are throwing their hat into the social networking ring by introducing Google Buzz. If you can overlook the awful name, Buzz will basically be incorporated into your Gmail account. According to Mashable’s initial details, there will be a tab labeled “Buzz” right underneath your Inbox. It will provide links to Google-owned Picasa and YouTube along with Flickr and Twitter (Facebook was left out of the initial report; not sure if it’s incorporated or not).
Todd Jackson, product manager for Google Buzz, called it “an entire new world within Gmail.”
On the other side of the aisle, Facebook is allegedly working on an email client that it is calling Titan. This news has come amidst yet another “Facebook facelift,” with the social networking site releasing more changes to the home page, specifically within the toolbar, with Messages, Notifications and Friend Requests now drop-down menus on the left-hand side of the screen.
There is a strong Internet buzz that Titan will kill off Gmail, especially since it is rumored that Titan will be able to be configured with any email client. With over 400 million users, it does seem that Facebook can’t really go wrong with this move. You can already search the web with Facebook. You’re connected to anyone who you want to be connected with. You can update your Twitter account through your Facebook status update with a special app. So if you incorporate email, would you have any other reason to leave Facebook.com?
I’m actually pretty excited about the changes within Gmail; however, I am a little skeptical about any true success. People are looking for the “next Facebook,” not another Facebook. We’re looking for something different that fits our needs in a better way. For a long time, we thought MySpace fit the bill just fine until Facebook one-upped them. If Google/Gmail had something truly innovative, then this would be an entirely different blog post. But they’re not one-upping anyone here – they’re just copying Facebook and hoping that the Google brand will encourage people to switch over.
What Google does have going for it is that the company has a strong track record of responding to consumer needs and desires. With that history alone we can expect several versions of Google Buzz to update our Gmail accounts over the coming months. And there are unique features that have been announced, and I’m sure there will be many more to come. For example, Buzz will be location-enabled on your phone, so it will know where you’re at without even being told. Ignore the creepy factor, and that’s pretty neat. But I’m not entirely convinced that those features will be enough to persuade people over to the Google-verse.
Who knows? Maybe two years from now I will be eating my words and Facebook will be as irrelevant as MySpace is, with Buzz leading the way. I do think Google is on to something with Google Wave, so perhaps they’ll end up mashing together Wave + Buzz + Gmail to create something that will end up eating the Internet.
The first wave is scheduled to start today; hopefully this won’t be on such a limited-basis release as Wave was. I also can’t find a date on when Facebook’s Titan will be released, though I’m thinking that will be sooner rather than later in an attempt to stay ahead of Buzz.
The best news about all of this? With some of the best online sites duking it out, we all win.
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Tags: Buzz, Facebook, Flickr, Gmail, google, Mashable, Picasa, Titan, Twitter, Wave, YouTube
About the Author
As Communications Coordinator, Carly is the primary copywriter for the firm, and oversees media relations for many of our clients. When not writing (either at work or at home), she can usually be found hiking, cooking, tweeting or dressing up Bowser and entering him into costume contests.
