Google Introduces Buzz, Which Provides Similar Features as Facebook

To attempt to capitalize on the widespread popularity of various social networking features that are provided by Facebook, Google has introduced Buzz on Tuesday and launched it in approximately one percent of Gmail inboxes, according to The USA Today. Google has announced that they intend on launching Buzz to the majority of Gmail users throughout the remainder of the week. The implementation of Google Buzz into Gmail is being interpreted by many technological experts as a means to generate further interest in the company’s e-mail service.

The most noticeable difference between Google Buzz and preexisting social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace is that your followers are contacts who already exist in your Gmail account. Therefore, your Gmail networking crowd is relatively limited although Google has announced that they are considering the option of expanding the potential network of its users.

Google Buzz provides Gmail users with an innovative way to share various forms of multimedia such as photos, videos and web links. It also enables Gmail users to share status updates, which is reminiscent of both Facebook and Twitter. Google executive Bradley Horowitz denied rumors that Google Buzz is a replica of Facebook or Twitter when he commented on the state of Gmail. Horowitz said, "We're doing fine by any traffic measure. This is about extending the reach of Gmail and making it one thousand times easier to share.”