Go beyond status messages
Share updates, photos, videos, and more.
Start conversations about the things you find interesting.
http://www.google.com/buzz
(you can watch a video about what this new tool is all about)
So what exactly is Google Buzz? It is a tool you use on your desktop PC or mobile, Buzz makes us think of an RSS combined with all of your social networking—all within the existing Gmail and Google.com infrastructure and (good/bad) security wall.
On Tuesday, February 9th, Google launched Buzz for Gmail, a service for sharing thoughts, multimedia, and your social media feeds with your friends utilizing Gmail (Gmail) as the conduit. The result: over 160,000 Google Buzz posts and comments per hour.
Buzz is an open platform, meaning that developers will soon be able to create new apps for Buzz — everything from iPhone apps to analytical services will be built on top of it.
Buzz's five key features include:
• Automatic friends lists (friends are added automatically who you have emailed on Gmail)
• "Rich fast sharing" combines sources like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, and it includes full-sized photo browsing
• Public and private sharing (swap between family and friends)
• Inbox integration (instead of emailing you with updates, like Facebook might, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with all Buzz thread content, like the photo viewer we mentioned above)
• "Recommended Buzz" puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, even if you're not acquainted. Recommendations learn over time with your feedback.
Read more at Wikipedia...
And check out GeekSystem...
Stay up to date with Google news, by reading their blog.
The question is, do YOU need Google Buzz if you are already on Facebook, Twitter and Blogger.com?
Should you continue your social marketing reach on this new tool for your company or organization?
Reviews are mixed.
According to Mashable.com (The Social Media Guide) "The social media landscape has been permanently altered. To ignore Buzz would be a costly mistake, because Google has finally created the definition of a game-changer." So they feel we need to be using this new tool.
PCWorld.com asks "How big is the potential market for Buzz? In theory, at least as big as the total number of Gmail users, I guess." Again, that is a big pool of users, but do you want to jump in?
Your users already have a what feels like hundreds of ways to share content with their friends: Facebook and Twitter are two popular choices. Blogging is another. E-mailing text and images to friends is still very popular. We are not seeing how Buzz will add positively to those choices, but then again, past Google tools have been wonderful!
YourPlanB.com will continue to monitor and test this new cool toy from Google. We will keep you posted on our opinions. If you have any questions about social marketing and your marketing plan, give us a call!