What a difference a month makes. A day after Google Buzz launched, I posted my initial impressions and included a pic that showed the enormous Buzz chatter in Montreal in the hours after its launch. Well today, one month later, I decided to log on and see what the Buzz was downtown:
Pretty dead, as you can see. Once again, it appears that Google’s algorithm-based methodology has let them down, and now they’ve got to figure out a way to turn Buzz into something people will use regularly. My own Google Buzz feed now seems to consist solely of reposts from people’s linked Twitter accounts. Buzz has the potential to be huge in social media. However, it seems as if Google might be stretching themselves too thin here. They have so many products and services, it seems as if every time they launch a new one it sits in neglect for months before changes and tweaks are made. Except for some privacy changes made a few days after Buzz’ launch, Google hasn’t done much with it.
I still like Buzz, but Twitter’s simplicity and head start are keeping it ahead. Twitter has also always had a problem retaining users, with about 60% of people who sign up abandoning the service within a month. I thought Google’s built-in legion of Gmail users might take up Buzz in a big way, but so far, it’s proven to be more of a nuisance for them.
Elias Makos 