Yes, Google Buzz Can Hurt Facebook and Twitter

By CD Mohatta

Google has recently launched it's new social networking initiative called Google Buzz. It is already present inside Gmail, and one does not have to register anew for it. This master stroke instantly gave Google over 40 million users for Buzz. Compared to launching a brand new platform like wave, this is integrated inside Gmail and thus already inside the users email inbox.

In buzz, a user can post pictures, videos, text, etc. They can like and comment on other user posts like in Facebook. In the first 56 hours of its launch, Google claimed that over 160000 posts were made on an average every hour. Why should Facebook and Twitter worry? Well, Twitter should worry because this service is more similar to it than to Facebook. And also because Gmail.com has more traffic than twitter.com has. Once you start using buzz, it automatically makes you follow some of your contacts and vice versa. Initially there were some privacy issues because many people use Gmail for business correspondence and would not want business associates to pry into their private life via buzz. But Google is addressing these issues speedily and giving options to turn off buzz or remove people you don't to follow, etc.

If public starts using buzz regularly, the potential is huge. It has the backing of a giant company which is lagging behind in the social networking arena and wants to gain lost ground. If users demand certain features, the company can work fast and incorporate the same. Google just needs to ensure that people keep on using buzz. It also needs a better public interface like Twitter has. Acquiring a polished and more refined look and feel will take some time. The theory is people are using Facebook and twitter a lot. Now, if they also start using buzz, it will mean that they go less to the other two sites. You waste only a certain time every day on something. You replace one activity with another.

In conclusion, Facebook and twitter already know that they have been attacked with buzz and I am sure that they are taking some steps to protect their ground.

The author likes to write articles. He also consults for internet and social networking content like photo fun and love quizzes.

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