Google today released a new social media service that it hopes will compete with services like Twitter. Access is primarily from Gmail and mobile devices. From my beginning experiences, the service seems somewhat complex. It has the makings of Twitter – using a Google profile (who doesn’t have one of these), a user can follow and be followed by other Buzz users. Buzzing is the equivalent to tweeting – seemingly without a character limit – and others can comment on them. The neat aspect of Google Buzz is its integration with Google Maps. This function is mainly for mobile users, and connects with GPS, WiFi, and cell towers to list available locations for display. Using Google Maps as a canvas, one can literally peruse the globe and see what people are saying visually, rather than in a list.
I feel like this could definitely catch on if the UI of desktop Gmail, mobile Gmail, and maps were a little more consistent. They are three totally different styles, and finding similar options is a little difficult. Google also needs to fix up the public profile pages for users. They are a quite blank. But overall for a service that just opened its gates it is quite good. I highly recommend you check it out!
Head over to buzz.google.com to find out more. If you’re on your mobile device, head to m.google.com/buzz.
Some videos by Google:
