More Buzz about Google

10-02-2010

by Ralph Averbuch

Google aims to turn the tables on the social media upstarts.

Start as you aim to go on. Google launched Buzz simultaneously via Gmail and with mobile friendly versions for Android and the iPhone.

At one point it really did seem that Google had reached an unassailable position where no-one else could touch it. Of course much the same has been said of Microsoft, and whilst still a serious force in software and the web, few today believe that the company's future success is a given. Part of Microsoft's fall was due to Google's rise. Yet Google too now faces a real threat from social media sites which are gathering huge numbers of followers. Facebook now claims some 400 million subscribers compared to Google's Gmail service of 130 million. Seemingly it’s just not enough to have the most popular web search in town anymore. Of course Google recognises this and is constantly looking at ways to diversify its reach and site stickiness in order to drive eyeballs back to pages it controls. Its latest yet is perhaps also one of the boldest. In launching Google Buzz [Video] as a topline feature inside Gmail, Google clearly hopes to introduce a service which will short-circuit the need for people to venture off to Twitter or Facebook. It offers the same kind of functionality and experience but within a service you will already be registered to use. And for Twitter aficionados it allows you to piggyback on the API to seamlessly follow and tweet from inside Gmail. What’s clear is that Google has absolutely no intention of allowing itself to be sidelined as just the search service for the web. This latest broadside reminds us that Google continues to set the agenda and where it doesn’t break new ground and lead innovation, it can quickly bring its scale and reach to bear to ensure that it doesn’t hemorrhage business to the new kids on the block. It’s a case of the incumbent dominant force looking to cut the new blood off before they can become a real threat to ‘Do no Evil’ Incorporated.

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