I’m not going to add to the noise about buzz by writing a lengthy review. Suffice to say I don’t see Buzz as turning into my main social networking hub any time soon. I do have a small viral observation though…
There is one thing it does very well.
I’ve joined many social services in my time, but don’t remember a single one that has tied together my social network so quickly.
The main benefit, so far, is for Google Reader. One of the best thing about Greader is sharing items. However, up to Buzz Greader relied mostly on your contacts to populate people you follow. Because many people, myself included* , don’t use their gmail address as their “official” address, just for Google services. Even if those people were Greader users, they’ve been “invisible” so far.
Lo and behold – less than 24 hours from Buzz’s launch, and %80 of people in my network that I was sorry weren’t sharing items with me now do.
And maybe that clever little thing points to the simple fact many people out there are judging Buzz using the wrong criteria.
*I do use gmail as an imap client for other addresses.
I am sure this is the case for you. I am not sure, however, that this is the case for the typical google user (if there is such thing).
For example, when I am testing a new social network, the easiest way to get connected with most people in the “scene” is looking you (and 3 or 4 others) up. I know that most of the early adapters will be in your network already.
What I am trying to say is that you are some sort of a hub. For other “regular” users the case might be different.
But Tal, the people joining my network so quickly are not just the geeks…