Google Buzz – Gmail gets social
It’s official. After months of reports that Google would soon announce a new social status feature, today came the big reveal of Google Buzz.
In essence, Google Buzz is an add-on for Gmail that allows you to update your ’status’ – akin to Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Since Google Buzz updates can be location-aware, it appears to be gunning for location-based social networking sites like Foursquare, Gowalla, and Brightkite (a fact not lost on Brady from Brightkite, who posted a ‘Google Buzz & Brightkite – separated at birth?‘ image.)
Mashable has a through discussion of Google Buzz’s roll-out. The most interesting part comes in Google’s leveraging of Gmail as a delivery platform . By rolling it out as a part of Gmail, Google can utilize the contacts of Gmail users as a built-in, pre-configured social network. When I update my Google Buzz, people who have me in their Gmail address book can automatically see my status.
It’s a brilliant move – since people interact with their email regularly, they’re more likely to get involved with the Buzz. At the same time, lots of people are beginning to feel wary of consolidating their online identities under Google – as CNET points out, this mistrust might slow its adoption. And given that Google is tying Buzz to Gmail in order to hasten its growth and better compete with already-established tools like Brightkite and Foursquare, it’s tough not to recall Microsoft’s bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows. We all know how that turned out.
Regardless, what this means for internet marketing remains to be seen. But like most of their product announcements, it’s another big step forward for Google.
(Provided their users decide to agree to it.)
Kipp Chambers
Sr. Internet Marketing Specialist
Tags: communications, google, location-based social networking, social media