The value of Google Buzz

I want to start out by saying that I am a Google fan all the way. Google.com is my homepage. I use the phrase “just Google it” just about anywhere and with anyone. If you don’t use Gmail you’re probably not a very good friend of mine. And I’m ashamed to say that I even subconsciously judge people by their email provider choice. Gmail is clearly the superior choice, right? Well, at least in my social circle.

The fact of the matter is that Gmail users are overwhelmingly younger than AOL, Yahoo, and Hotmail users (nearly 50% of Gmail users are under age 25). Not only that, but Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are more popular among Gmail users than either Hotmail or Yahoo users, but at the same time average fewer social media profiles. It kind of makes sense. Gmail came out years after the other services and those who already had established accounts probably didn’t want to change. But they also created multiple social media accounts not really knowing which ones would be valuable, whereas Gmail users have been much more selective about which social media accounts they put their name on (see: Hotmail Users have Most Profiles, Gmail Users Better-Connected).

Then Google came out with a “social network” of their own: Google Buzz. Instead of giving users the option to sign up as we do for Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, this new network was automatically forced upon all Gmail users. The same users who already use Facebook and Twitter in droves, have more friends on those social networks than other email users, and as I said earlier are very selective about which social networks they participate in.

I was pretty torn myself about Google Buzz at first (well, I still am). On one side, I love everything Google and was super excited to play with the new features Google launched. On the other side, I was overwhelmed by the idea of having to monitor another social network. But just as I was excited about Google Wave, I’ve been highly disappointed with the reality.

Where is the value? If we’re going to be selective about which social networks we use, then we’re going to immediately try to determine the value of Google Buzz. At least in my experience, my Buzz alerts are few and far between and mostly consist of my contacts’ Twitter and Google Reader feeds (what’s the point? I’m already reading those in Tweetdeck or my Reader). Either that or people straight up asking “so is anyone actually using Google Buzz?” It also seems to be creating more buzz outside of Google Buzz than within the network itself. We’re already using Twitter to make new connections. We’re already using Google Reader to keep tabs on all our favorite blogs and our friends’ recommended articles. We’re already using Facebook to keep in touch with friends and make in-depth public comments on statuses & articles. We’re already using Gtalk to instant message our friends, family and business contacts privately. In fact, everything we know about Gmail is that it’s private, yet Google Buzz has some serious privacy concerns.

Whatever little value Buzz has added to my life is far outweighed by the need to simplify and reduce the amount of repetitive information dumped in my inbox. Yes Gen Y is pretty good at processing large quantities of information, but we still don’t want to process the same information more than once. There’s no value in that and even more importantly, it is a waste of our time.

Author: Carlee Mallard – I’m a 2007 graduate of UNC – Chapel Hill where I studied Psychology, Geography and Urban Planning. I currently spend my weekdays conducting education survey research for the government, but you’ll find me dabbling in photography, entrepreneurship, traveling domestically & internationally, savings our cities from historic destruction/cars/sprawl/simplicity, relationships, lifestyle design and writing. You can find me on twitter @carleemallard too!