Google Buzz

Google Buzz is a set of additional services that have been added to Google's popular web based email program Gmail.http://www.google.com/buzz

On February 9, 2010, Google held a press conference to announce their newest product in the social media space and explain many of the features and functions of the new services that are immediately available to Gmail users.

The most noticeable advantage to Google Buzz is the way that e-mail comments and media, such as photos and videos, can be shared. Google Buzz automatically 'follows' the people who you communicate with most. Rather than broadcasting a passive "status message" like Facebook or "tweet" like Twitter, Google Buzz engages your friends by making the content that you find interesting available to them.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/02/google-facebook-social-networking.html

Beyond the social and shared features of Google Buzz, new mobile features have been added to integrate technologies from Google Voice. An example of this is allowing users to post Buzz updates using their mobile phone and only their voice. Also, location aware technologies allow mobile users to see what buzz is happening around them in their current location.

Google is well known for their search algorithms and ability to determine what content is relevant and topical when matched against keywords. So far Google has been unsuccessful in breaking into the social media space dominated by companies such as Facebook, Twitter and recently FourSquare.

Google Engineers such as Marissa Mayer have been talking about "hyperpersonal news streams" for some time. At its core, Google Buzz allows you and your friends to transparently share and rank content such as text, video and photos that you find interesting. While services such as Twitter are capable of broadcasting messages to a group of people, those messages appear as a flat timeline that are not ranked in any way other than with the recently released Twitter Lists.http://digital.venturebeat.com/2009/12/09/le-web-q-a-with-google-vp-marissa-mayer-on-the-future-of-search/

During the Google Buzz Press Conference, Bradley Horowitz explained that Google Buzz had 5 core features:

1. Auto Following
2. Fast Sharing of text, video, photos, etc
3. Public and private sharing
4. Inbox integration with Gmail
5. Just the good stuff

The 5th feature highlights Google's continued stance on spam. Google allows spam to exist, but removes it algorithmically.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/02/google-facebook-social-networking.html