Tech Review: Why All the (Google) Buzz?

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Graphic by Scott P. Moore.

By Scott P. Moore

When Google announced the release of "Buzz," the newest addition to its wide range of Internet-based products, the Gmail add-on became popular pretty quickly, ascending to the top of Twitter's trending topics within hours of its release. However, much like the search engine's previous releases of social networking-based applications in Wave and Orkut, Buzz falls short on features and real-world use.

Features
Much like predecessors Facebook and Twitter, Buzz is a status-based social network that uses Gmail as its basis for "friending" or "following." With perhaps the easiest feature available, a new Buzz account will attempt to add the people the user e-mails through Gmail the most. Searching for other users is quite easy using the patented "Find People" link near the top of the status update area. Rounding out the friends and followers is a very convenient update for every person who follows you - a nice tool to see who's creepin' on your Buzz.

The status on Buzz can also be linked out to many of Google's other services, including the popular YouTube, Web album service Picasa, Google Talk statuses (popularly called "Gchat") and Google Reader. It can even show Twitter updates from a linked account. Facebook, however, is clearly left out of these options. Buzz will easily remind those left out Facebook users of the services that social network offers - commenting and liking a status has been enabled for any update posted to the Buzz.

Buzz does have a huge plus with its automatic mobile geotagging, Android OS integration and iPhone OS usability. Geotagging posts the Buzz update from the exact area from where it is sent, if sent from a mobile GPS-enabled device. For Android, users can see other Buzz updates right in their Google Maps application. While the Google Maps application on iPhone may have to wait for a system update to receive this feature, Google has made an easy-to-use Web app page. This niche feature is pretty great for getting and giving opinions, news updates and information about what's going on in the area around you. During this past week's snowstorm, Buzz was "abuzz" with other students on campus giving their latest opinions about the storm.

Possibility of Success
Google's been right on the mark with some of their services. Gmail, Google Docs and the Google Reader are some of the most popularly used items on the Web site, and for good reason - they do what they're supposed to do with exceptional success. Google has seen other ideas, such as the aforementioned Wave or Orkut, fizzle out after an initial popularity. Google Buzz has the stuff, but needs to enable more to truly outweigh the heavyweights of Facebook and Twitter for a foothold in the United States.

With no access to send from or to Facebook, Google has eliminated a lot of potential cross-platform use between themselves and the nation's most-visited social network. The people at Google also copied a lot of the features that Facebook has either offered for a while or recently, which brings up some questions about the survival rate of this new feature. Will people take the time to re-post photos from Facebook to Google's Picasa to share on Buzz? Only time will tell, but initial peeks at my own personal Buzz say "no."

Buzz's release with geotagging gives it a more intimate feeling than Twitter, whose geotagging features have recently been released and must be enabled by the user in order to be used. Geotagging is a true, new player in the social networking game but has shown its importance in relaying information within a local area. Buzz also lacks the power to send a Tweet; it can show the Tweets you make public from Twitter, but your Buzzes will not appear on Twitter. The complete absence of extra-social networking output clearly puts the system at a disadvantage compared to the others.

The Verdict
While its integration with Google's services is a very powerful feature, its lack of integration with the legacy social networks is not. Maybe over time Google will open up the Buzz feature, but until then the service is just one in a field of many like it. Grade: C+ (mostly for effort)