I’m glad that Google is taking another step into the social networking arena with its new Buzz product. But like Wave, Buzz has the problem of having to convince people it needs to exist.
My biggest problem with Buzz is the same as it is with Wave: Google continues to assume that most people spend all their time in a browser. Even worse, for Buzz you specifically need to be logged into your Gmail page.
I have a Gmail account. I only use it on rare occasions and so that I can have access to other Google services. I get my Gmail the way I get all my email, in Apple’s OS X Mail application. I NEVER go to my Gmail web page in a browser, unless I have to for some reason. Why would I want to look at ads while reading my email? And why would I want to have to continually log into a web site to see if I have a new email, when the standalone app informs ME via a notification when I have new mail?
For that reason alone, I’m extremely unlikely to check in with my Buzz updates. The only Google page I go to on a regular basis in the browser is my Google Reader page, because RSS is the one service that truly belongs in a browser. Oddly enough, though I have access to Buzz from my Google Reader page on my iPhone, that same functionality does not appear on my desktop Safari Google Reader page. Integrate Buzz into the Reader page on the desktop, and there’s a chance I might start using it. As long as it’s trapped inside the Gmail browser, it’s a non-starter for me.
Ultimately, Buzz isn’t going anywhere without both true integration with and true differentiation from Facebook and Twitter. That, plus some sort of standalone application.
