Google Buzz

[fnid2]

I wonder if, when a company crosses a threshold we all think violates a Nash equilibrium, we start to oppose the company. With this move, Google is declaring war on a host of web companies that are heretofore thriving and collaborating and making tons of money.

Every dollar of advertising that Facebook makes is a dollar or even more from Google. Every minute that facebookers facebook, google isn't showing them ads and isn't getting click throughs and this amounts to a vastly larger sum of money than any new search engine or aggregator or individual media company which google has already rendered moot to a large extent.

This is real time search which everyone has been asking for with all the data stored on google's super voluminous uber-fast lightning machine with its neurons and axons keeping the world connected and communicating.

Here it is and we don't want it.

The competition is for virtual real estate. Everywhere there is blank space on the screen or blank time in the consumer day or a blank wall in the virtual world, there will be an ad on it, just as today there are ads in nearly every physical space: Public transportation, Bar room mirrors, big screen tvs... Nothing is safe. No one is safe from Google and they have crossed the nash equilibrium where everyone is competing against them, including the websites where they get their content and the websites where people go to pass time.

[alexandros]

One thing that just struck me, is that google/gmail will not be banned from workplace computers as often as fb/twitter have been. This alone will be a significant advantage.

[FreeRadical]

I think in most corporates (outside the software industry) it's the other way around. I can't access gmail/hotmail but can access social networks at work (in finance).

[gxs]

I've been fortunate enough to never have been employed at a company where the employer things its good practice to ban certain websites. How common is this? What field do you work in?

[JoshRosen]

Perhaps there will be an option to disable Google Buzz for the Google Apps version of Gmail.

[intellectronica]

Is Google becoming the new Microsoft? Not in the evil sense, but in the lame me-too products that rely on brute force (their huge install base) and no innovation to hopelessly try to compete sense.

[cantastoria]

Google has always been this way as far as I can tell. They're basically using Microsoft's old strategy of "clone it and give it away so we can sell more of Windows" only with Google it's ads.

The difference is everyone still loves them. Microsoft was seen as ruthlessly destroying their competition. Google is seen as innovative. Bizarre.

[yungchin]

I really liked Chris Dixon's post "What's strategic for Google?" from a while back: http://cdixon.org/2009/12/30/whats-strategic-for-google/ ... following his line of thinking, this may be a lame me-too product, but they _have_ to run it anyway: if they allow Facebook to move a lot of user-hours away from the internet to what is really a big intranet, that would kill Google's revenue.

[ashu]

Argh what is the point of comments like these? It is totally drowning out any useful discussion about the actual merits or demerits of the product. The iPod was a lame "me-too" product, eh?

[mawhidby]

From the looks of it, Google has integrated Buzz into their existing products (gmail, maps, places) that makes it more than just a me-too product. Specifically, a big advantage is in the way Buzz integrates with Gmail - it's brilliant.

Compare how you would reply to an email notification from Facebook or Twitter: you'd have to login to the site and post your reply (or even see the actual reply) there. With Buzz, it's inline.

[pibefision]

I think that it's a great move. GMAIL has 150MM users a month, you can bootstrap anything with that userbase.

and Wave?

[yungchin]

That's what I never got about Wave - that they didn't somehow integrate it with Gmail, not even loosely.

After I got a Wave account I invited a couple of friends, and they checked it out - signing in once, and forgetting about the whole service after that. So I tried including them in a few "waves", but there was no option to get email notifications of new waves! Of course they never returned, and the next time 'round I'd just email them again...

[joezydeco]

Is Buzz built with Wave? Can't find a mention anywhere, but it sure looks like Wave.

[levesque]

Wave is still choppy for me.

[DanielBMarkham]

Wow. Lookout lots of web companies. You're wallowing along in the middle of the road and this huge truck is barreling down on you at 100 kph. The truck's name is Google.

For the less metaphorically-inclined, Google has so much money and is doing so much development that they've reached the point that they are actively trying to obsolete hundreds of companies. You can certainly argue that perhaps these companies deserve to be replaced. Google is becoming the Wal-Mart of the web.

[techiferous]

They're not necessarily barreling over other smaller companies; sometimes they buy them which is a welcome exit for the founders.

[pibefision]

Check the API (http://code.google.com/intl/es/apis/buzz/)

[adrianwaj]

I wonder if Google's API docs on the whole are too comprehensive. Most people just want to get to the meat fast, and then consume it. Twitter's API doc is one page.

[pibefision]

Also http://twitter.com/Google_Buzz

[agotterer]

Doesn't add a Buzz option to my gmail. Working for anyone else?

[larsr]

"We're still rolling out Buzz to everyone, so if you don't see it in your Gmail account yet, check back soon."

(doesn't work yet for me either)

[jkincaid]

Try accessing it from Android/iPhone (buzz.google.com). I can access it on my phone even though it isn't popping up in Gmail yet.

[Pahalial]

If you use the mobile UI and have someone comment on your post, it will send the thread to your inbox. Trying to reply to that thread will then force-update your gmail to include Buzz (or at least, it worked for me.)

[jfno67]

Just tried it out on my Android, can someone tell me why I'll go to Foursquare now... This is the best checkin interface yet.

[jganetsk]

Because Foursquare incentivizes you to use it a hundred ways from Sunday, including games and promotions.

[Zak]

I find it very odd that they depict the iPhone on top of the N1. To me, that conveys a position of higher status for Google's competitor and that doesn't make much sense.

[jkincaid]

There are many, many more iPhones and iPod Touches out there than there are Nexus Ones. Google wants as many people as possible to be using this, so they're showing these people that it will work with their devices.

They'll save the 'superior device' angle for other features where the size of the user base is less important (GPS Navigation).

[chaosmachine]

Everyone recognizes the iPhone, very few will know what the N1 is.

[Raphael]

Well, it's true. There are more iPhones in use than devices running Android.

[TotlolRon]

Maybe the page designer has a "tell" :)

[mrfabbri]

Accessing http://m.google.com/app/buzz from an iPhone works whether or not you see the buzz label in gmail. You can use Firefox with the "User-Agent Switcher" add-on set on iPhone to try it out.

[jokermatt999]

Similarly, buzz.google.com worked on my Droid, despite not having the buzz link in gmail.

[ashishbharthi]

iPhone webpage works for me but it still have issues when you post updates. I tried posting two updates, it kept going but updates were never posted.

[highstakefever]

What I don't understand is how people seem to be okay with Buzz being built into gmail. Don't we have enough of social networks that steal our time? Now we have one in or inbox? Not super excited about that fact.

[robotron]

Then turn it off. I'm okay with chat in Gmail - when I want to chat. If I don't want to chat I simply sign off. Simple enough. Options are good.

[robgough]

I'm more concerned about how it will work over IMAP - or does IMAP just ignore the buzz mails?

[tdmackey]

Thought it was a little funny to see that http://buzz.com/ seems to be a similar unlaunched service from AT&T with the same name.

It seems they've managed to roll up what a lot of others were doing into a seemly nicely integrated package. I would like to think that this will give location based networks the push they need to become more mainstream.

[thwarted]

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1079765

[albemuth]

G1 won't run it, needs Android 2.0+ I guess it's good that they're not letting old platforms slow down development, but FFS, a bit over a year and the G1 can't run any of the new stuff. They should never have sold it with such weak hardware... Still waiting on an 850 Nexus :(

[kloncks]

In the picture on the website, why is the Nexus One being covered by the iPhone?

It should be the other way around.

[eam]

I agree! Maybe they're trying to "not be evil".

[kerringtonx]

I like Buzz after using it a bit more on my iTouch (still not available on my computer yet ... :/ ). Still trying to decide if I like Buzz better than Foursquare. It's really fun checking in and competing with your friends, but if you don't live in a populated area like myself, there seems to be not as much interaction. When I signed on with Buzz, there were already people interacting. Sharing tips about restaurants, what they were doing for the day, how they liked Buzz, and etc. Both are definitely fun though! Anyone get to use it on their PC? How is it??

[jsz0]

I'm going to reserve final judgement until I actually get a chance to use the service and see the direction Google wants to take it. My first reaction is not positive. This feels like Google's Microsoft Money moment Go into a market with an established leader, use your size and dominance to undermine the competition just because you're the 800lbs gorilla and you need to be fed at any cost. There doesn't appear to be anything new here. Just a Google logo.

[enneff]

Have you looked at the Geo features? The integration with several existing services? Of course it is not a new idea, but to say "just a Google logo" does a great disservice to the team who've been working hard on this project.

[csmeder]

I cant get Buzz to show up in my gmail, what am I doing wrong?

[bockris]

Comment further down on this page

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1112969

[ableal]

Early warning at Blogoscoped: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1090344

[mrtron]

It is a well engineered twitter.

Will be interesting to see if it can gain enough momentum to be useful. I am betting yes - due to the simpler embedding of media.

[Scott_MacGregor]

Now who in here will be the first to develop a slick dedicated Windows desktop sidebar client for this, or an Outlook plugin?

If it was a Microsoft product, it would probably run right on the desktop in a sidebar. Then they would have a developers conference for it in Las Vegas with a free brunch too. [A different promotional stratagy than Google].