What’s all the BUZZ about?
Last week, Google launched Google Buzz, a social networking service to compete with Twitter and Facebook. The service is based on the 176 million users of Gmail. If you have a gmail account, Buzz will automatically create a “built-in circle of friends” for your networking and chatting conversations.
Amid the excitement of the launch, the talk around Google Buzz is not all positive. Critics say that Buzz invades privacy by assuming the right to create a potential friend list without asking for the user’s permission. Todd Jackson, product manager for Gmail and Google Buzz, responded that the company will make necessary changes in the weeks ahead.
In a business world where products are often introduced and then improved using real-time customer feedback, some wonder if Google launched their social networking rocket too soon.
“It was a terrible mistake,” said Danny Sullivan, a specialist on Google and editor of SearchEngineLand, an industry blog. “I don’t think people expected that Google would show the world who you are connected with. And if there was a way to opt out, it was really easy to miss.” Time will tell if Google can alter course before the market runs out of patience.
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