The hype the past couple of weeks comes to no surprise to any of you social media enthusiasts.  Google Buzz is alive and kicking.  For a good amount of people, Google Buzz has been a new piece of social media that they can get their hands on.  However, the value offered through this service is no different than FriendFeed.  I believe FriendFeed is a much better platform and an easier to use interface.  Even though Google Buzz is just another conversational tool, I think they really screwed up with this social network.  I have many reasons for feeling this way and I will back up my opinion.

Before I break down Google Buzz, I wanted to make it known that I usually support everything Google does, but this is the first time I completely disagree with how they went about their social network.  It should be called Google Bust.  I think that name would suffice with the many issues that people have been raising about Google Buzz.

Now for my dissection of Google Buzz…

1.  As a countless number of people have already mentioned, the privacy issues were a huge problem, but Google did address this.  Their “following” process was really intrusive in the beginning.  You couldn’t decide whether or not you wanted to follow somebody.  Google was deciding for you, but luckily they addressed that issue.

2.  Their is NO VALUE with Google Buzz as I mentioned earlier.  Who wants something that has already been done before?  As I said, it’s FriendFeed, but worse to every degree!  I feel when using the platform that it offers a very messy experience. I don’t enjoy it.  There’s so much going on that I don’t want to even bother checking it.

3.  Integrating Google Buzz into Gmail wasn’t a smart choice.  Many people don’t like the interference of a social network and notifications within their email.  They need to develop a separate app for Google Buzz to eliminate that annoyance.  By just doing that, it would be a step forward.  They are taking a great thing that is GMail and slapping in a social network that pretty much is a cluge.

4.  You can’t post updates on Google Buzz that share on your other social media platforms.  For a company that has been as successful as Google and with all other social media sites offering the ability to sync accounts, I’m surprised Google didn’t implement this feature on their platform.  To me this is an opportunity missed.

5.  Nonsense email updates about posts you write.  Why do I need to be alerted of posts I have put up myself?  I think I know what I put up already.  It’s pointless and extremely annoying and there’s no way that I have found to turn that type of notification off.

These are quite significant issues I have raised in regards to Google Buzz.  Most of them I know many people have already complained about in their own blogs, but I felt it was my turn to join in on the fun.  I really do love what Google does, but they need to take this social network from BUST to BUZZ!  There’s nothing about it that you can look at it and say, “cool.”  They are missing this factor and have some serious work to do before I feel it’s a contender in social media.  The reason why it’s being used actively now is only because it’s something new.  I believe the fad will wear off and unless the team over at Google makes changes to the app, it will becoming a thing of the past. 

Overall, I can only think of two positive things with Google Buzz.  One, it has the Google name in front of it, so I do expect them to make changes and improve the platform.  Secondly, I think the fact that they let you know who is following you within the application is creative.  I think that’s much better than being emailed about a new follower.  So, what do you think of Google Buzz?  Do agree with any of the following statements I have made above?  What else would you add to the list?

Further reading:

FormSpring.me – A Gamechanger In Social Networking?

Social Networks Manager – A Future Position At Companies?

10 Important Things About Being Social

5 Tips For Using Social Media