Invite colleagues
In a move that will certainly impact our digital marketing world, Google has announced a new service that aims to compete in the social networking space and to take on the likes of Facebook and Twitter. The Google blog has outlined the new service, which is currently limited to Gmail users or through a mobile phone app. Initially the service is being made available to Google's existing network of contacts through Gmail although the longer-term goal is for Buzz to be a fully open and distributed platform for conversations.
So given those of us in China that have no access to Facebook and Twitter... will this become our social media window into the West? Maybe yes, maybe no... but certainly we social marketers are going to watch with interest as the Internet Giants go to battle over this rapidly growing space.... Here is some information about this new social media platform.....
Gmail users will see a new option in their mailbox which will allow them to share information with other contacts, including photos, videos and links. There is an option to share publicly or privately, although Google will also present users with recommended comments or links from other people that are deemed to be relevant. On mobile phones, Google Buzz adds the component of location to the information being shared, so that posts tagged with geographical information have an extra dimension of context.
Of course this launch will attract worldwide media coverage, as usual with any significant new service from Google (remember Google Wave), and many will see this as an attempt to directly compete with the type of services being run by Facebook, Twitter and the like. Microsoft and Yahoo also say they have been running services like this for some time, so it's nothing new, so it will be interesting to see how widely this new option takes off against the existing tools now being used.
My prediction is that in China it will become widely embraced by expats and Westernized Chinese who crave for a Facebook/Twitter replacement. Other than these constituents, most Chinese netizens will see Google Buzz will be an interesting tool but not interesting enough to be pulled away from renren.com, Kaixin001 or Tianya...
Login and comment. Be great to know what you think.
Written on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 11:22 by Matt McDougall
