Buzz Me Not (But if you do... Tips for You!)

Well let me state for the record, I'm not really over the moon for Google Buzz. It's a good idea but here's my problem... what's the great gap in service? What I mean is, to truly love a new product or a service online (and use it), you need it to provide something new you can't get anywhere else AND it's gotta be something you really need or wish you had. For example, people wished they had a way to reconnect with people, stay in touch, etc (hence MySpace, Facebook,etc). Think about the great social media tools right now... Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, Flickr, Google Docs, Google Reader, etc - they all provide something unique we need.

Then, there's Google Buzz. It's trying to provide a service we already have elsewhere. Granted, I'm sure it's more effectively implemented and would be more efficient than what we already have but... people don't change. I especially feel, people don't change email. Google is really pushing it through Gmail. Think about this... how many people do you know still have an aol email address? I know quite a few. People don't necessarily want Gmail. I guess I'm just skeptical because I don't see how this appeals to the masses. Perhaps it will appeal to some savvy social media users but I'm guessing not the majority of internet users. And not me, I just don't have time to be updating one more site when I can already do that on ten others.

Let's check back in six months later and see if the Buzz has made an impact. You know where I stand... what do you think?

However, if you are going to use it, here's some tips provided by Google. 

http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/5-buzz-tips.html

Among the great tips, how to format your posts, how to see a summary of activity, and how to post directly to someone's inbox.