Google says it may allow people to participate in Google Buzz without having it integrated within Gmail, in addition to offering a combined Gmail service. That may be a welcome move for users of both products, especially in light of the substantial privacy concerns voiced this week about Google Buzz. "It's clear that interest in Buzz may extend beyond the current Gmail base, and we're open to serving that community," said Bradley Horowitz, Google's VP of Product Marketing, when I spoke to him about some Buzz issues at the TED Conference. Horowitz stressed that Google would still offer a [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Google: Buzz | Google: Critics | Google: Gmail | Legal: Privacy | Top News

Want to follow Google cofounder Sergey Brin on Google's new microblogging service, Google Buzz? Brin says he might join in the future. During the Google Buzz launch event, Brin spoke of being a big fan, even using it to gather opinions internally at Google about a New York Times opinion piece he was writing about Google Books. Now that Buzz is available to the public, will Brin be participating? At the TED Conference in Long Beach, he told me that he might. The key issue for him and a number of Googlers is that the Buzz accounts they've used so far have only been for discussions within G [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Features: General | Google: Buzz | Google: Marketing | Top News

Google's stated goal for Buzz is to help users cut through the noise of social networking. Ironically, yesterday's announcement created as much noise (maybe more?) as an Apple announcement. Yep, everybody's got an opinion about Google Buzz and if you're one of the many who found it impossible to follow the reactions, we've done some of the legwork for you. It would be impossible to recap all the buzz about Buzz, but here's a noteworthy selection of the good, bad, and ugly. The Good Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy: At the high level, this is a strong move for Google, they continue t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Google: Buzz | Google: Critics | Top News

The dust is still settling on Google's PR blitz today over Google Buzz, but that hasn't stopped both Microsoft and Yahoo from speaking up. Their message is simple: been there, done that. Dharmesh Mehta, Director of Product Management for Windows Live, shared this statement with Search Engine Land this afternoon: Busy people don't want another social network, what they want is the convenience of aggregation. We've done that. Hotmail customers have benefitted from Microsoft working with Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and 75 other partners since 2008. Yahoo didn't even wait for the Google eve [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Google: Buzz | Google: Critics

Google has announced a new product called Google Buzz, which represents the company's latest attempt to hitch its wagon to the popularity of social networking and, more specifically, the growth of social sharing and status updates. Many will call this a Twitter killer or a threat to Facebook. Certainly the company is targeting the audiences that Twitter and Facebook serve, but suggestions that Buzz will kill them are overblown. From Orkut to Lively to Google Friend Connect and beyond, Google has tried to succeed with social products that just haven't caught on. There's no guarantee Google B [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Facebook | Google: Buzz | Google: Gmail | Google: Mobile | Google: Place Pages | Top News | Twitter

Google is set to announce a new social tool at a 10:00 am event on its Mountain View campus. Due to the last-minute notice, we're not on the scene, but Google is providing a webcast via YouTube that we'll be using. Stay tuned for the liveblogging to start at 10 am or shortly thereafter.... Okay, so it's 10:05 and we're still waiting. #tapsfingers There we go -- Google has given a 2-3 minute warning. We'll be starting shortly. Or not. We're underway! Bradley Horowitz, VP of Product Mktg. is speaking first. "Hello on the webcast." Hi Brad. Says we'll be doing this for 45 minutes t [...]

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Google: Buzz | Google: Place Pages