Just two days in and Google is already sharing some Google Buzz stats and improvements. Notably, the company says that there are already “tens of million of people” checking out Buzz, and that 9 million posts and comments have been created in these first two days. They’re also seeing over 200 posts per minute from mobile phones. But amid the huge usage, Google is getting a lot of criticism for the way Buzz is currently implemented. The good news is that they appear to be listening and quickly responding.
Later today, Google says that they will create a more obvious way to hide your follower count. This has been an issue as it potentially exposes who you email and/or chat with the most. Also new is the immediate ability to block anyone who starts following you. Finally, Google will make it easier to see what people will show up on your “following you” public page. This was (and still is) tricky because only users with public profiles show up there, but it wasn’t obvious who that was.
It’s good to see Google reacting so quickly to some of the feedback they’re getting. That said, there remains a lot of work to be done with Buzz. The main problem I have with it is that it’s entirely too noisy and there is no good way to turn that down without unfollowing people. Basically, you have to take the “social” out of the social network for it to be most useful. It seems that there are simply some UI/UX tweaks they could do to correct this.
There’s another another potential security issue with Buzz that we’ve been looking into and will be posting on soon. These updates apparently do not correct that. Stay tuned.
For now, be sure to follow us on Buzz.
Google as usual moving fast – release and iterate – unlike other companies which have updates once or twice a year.
9 Million Posts in 2 days is incredible :O
Integrating it with Gmail is the key. Millions of users became Buzz users overnight.
Given their reported user numbers (close to 150 mil./ month), 9million posts doesn’t constitute a large percentage of users. Many people, myself included posted more than once.
I imagine more than 10% of facebook users posted something on the first day they joined the service.
Releaseing often is good, but security issues are bad.
Take the Google Wave phishing problem for instance. A lot of people could have been victims and it is so easy to do …
Link :http://ha.ckers.org/blog/20100210/phishing-with-google-wave/
potential Victims : http://bit.ly/credpage
The reason why is it so faast, because they integrate it with Gmail.. Rumors also suggest that you can see each email your contacts send? Wow this sure is a buzz!… Just wait when Gwave and Buzz merge…
Now that’s sweet :D Details: http://bit.ly/google-wave-why-should-you-use-it
Would this explain why I can’t get a response back on a question I had regarding my Adwords account? Is everyone working on Google Buzz? Really pissed. And no, the not trying to buy ads for JonBovi : )
Friendfeed had the noise problem figured out a long time ago. They have the ability to hide specific types of posts from all users or a specific user. If Google added this it would help the noise problem immensely. Maybe Google should ‘copy’ more of Friendfeed’s features.
Now maybe, just maybe, people can stop acting like the World is Ending because of Google Buzz.
Two days ago, I was very critical of Buzz but things have changed a lot just in the last 2 days.
The World will be definitely be Ending for Twitter (and all the 3rd party apps, like Seesmic, Tweetdeck, HootSuite), Yammer, CoTweet, Foursquare and Gowalla. Facebook will also be impacted with this.
It will be interesting to see who will survive the wild ride.
Why on earth would 3rd party apps like tweetdeck die? They’d just integrate Buzz. Not die.
Did you forget?
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I’m not so sure about that. While Buzz is convenient there is still the risk of putting yourself too much out there. Your Google public profile at the minimum has your real name out there, and just as you wouldn’t go around town writing your name on every wall, you probably don’t want a lot of the communication attached with your name on it. You never know when it’s going to come back an haunt you. An avatar or a nickname option would easily solve the trick.
Besides, I don’t think Buzz is going to make people give up their Facebook, so apps like Tweetdeck and such aggregators will still survive. Foursquare and Gowalla are more like games and although I don’t see the point of them to begin with, I’m not sure for the people who use them Google Buzz is anything of a replacement.
The funny thing is, there’s a “nickname” field in your Google Profile that would be perfect for masking your real name. But Buzz seems to ignore it.
I’m *hoping* that’s a bug.
Couldn’t agree more about how busy the stream becomes very quickly. Need some sort of filter.
My main issue is that they force people to display their full name on their public profiles in order to be able to post to buzz. I wish I could simply display my nickname as before to the public, and my full name to my contacts.
How long until Buzz gets blocked in China? ?
I give it a week!
I give it a day…
“The main problem I have with it is that it’s entirely too noisy and there is no good way to turn that down without unfollowing people. ”
How is this different from any other social network, though? I’ve opted out of following the typical ‘internet celebrities’ and my Buzz account is just full of good conversation with friends.
If someone gets spammy, say with tweets coming over, Buzz ‘stacks them up’ for easy muting. Long threads get collapsed by default. Buzz’d blog posts open and collapse nicely.
It isn’t perfect by a long shot, but it’s got potential. I won’t replace Twitter with Buzz or follow the same people on both places. Buzz is a more intimate tool, for me. Twitter is where a skim to see announcements and stuff. Buzz will be where I hold conversations with friends.
Can anybody answer what does Google Buzz bases contact suggestions off of. Some evil algorithm?
I believe the “official word” is that it just grabs the people you’ve most frequently exchanged emails with. And that seemed to be the case with me. But of course somehow it’s filtering out newsletters and stuff…
At this pace, it will be difficult for Facebook and Twitter to cope with the Empire (translated Google).
Looking forward to your next post about the potential security issue. But I am sure the Empire will also fix that one in no time.
That security issue u noted…I checked it out and it really bothered me. Anyone could see who I emailed/chatted with frequently! This is easy to stop but should NOT have been a default. http://www.businessinsider.com/warning-google-buzz-has-a-huge-privacy-flaw-2010-2#after-clicking-buzz-on-the-right-inside-your-gmail-page-click-on-your-name-as-shown-1
That security flaw u point out…I checked it out and it really bothered me. Anyone could see who I emailed/chatted with frequently. Was easy to resolve but should NOT have been a default! A quick how to here…http://www.businessinsider.com/warning-google-buzz-has-a-huge-privacy-flaw-2010-2#after-clicking-buzz-on-the-right-inside-your-gmail-page-click-on-your-name-as-shown-1 Google pls set a new default. Agreed?
BTW I like BUZZ…just has some kinks to be worked out…Get on it Google.
Thats good going. Keep it up Google!
Great Post.
Its like Facebook, No its like Twitter….
Hang on…. its Google Buzz. Reactions all around the world are pouring in, although its just 2 days, it has 9 Million Posts in 48hours…. that’s amazing stuff.
I love Google. I would also love to love Buzz, but:
My Google profile has been blocked for months.
I have removed all the pictures and other potentially “offensive” material, and I’ve been clicking on the “reevaluate your profile” button for months, but Nothing Happens.
Google’s no-human customer service policy is preventing users like me to solve this problem, as we get redirected to forum after forum.
Now I’m locked out of Buzz because of this.
I’m not the only one. Can somebody please HELP?
Muchas Gracias. Go Google.
The main reason why so many people are checking out Buzz, is because it has been parked inside their own Gmail account.
I mean if someone just parked their car in your front lawn, you would have to check it out of course, but it doesn’t mean that you have to take it with you for a long drive.
Just a quick footnote. Have just watched the full Google Buzz Launch on YouTube and I love the part in the presentation where one Google Exe congratulates their PR Team and says ‘Thanks to Mike’.
Surely he doesn’t mean Mike Arrington?
I don’t get Google Buzz. Yet I check it every time I see a notification of a new buzz. Their integration with Gmail is key.
Google Buzz lets gmail users take advantage of social media without leaving the console. Most brands will embrace it. we at RealNYdeal have added the Google Buzz link to our home page. Let the readers decide how they want to consume content.
You can also try http://buzz-stats.com for most popular user rankings