SmartPulse — our weekly reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues.
Last week’s poll question: Do you think Google Buzz poses a threat to Facebook or Twitter?
- The buzz on Buzz will die down soon. 38.03%
- It could pose a threat, but uncertain whether it will. 24.79%
- It is not a threat, but a complementary service. 23.93%
- Buzz poses a threat to Twitter, but not to Facebook. 7.69%
- Buzz does pose a threat to both. 5.56%
I’m going to weigh in on the side of those who see Buzz as a complementary service. It’s going to find a significant place in the social media spectrum and here’s why: Sites such as Mashable and Techcrunch have already built in the capability to share content via Buzz, similar to the way it’s done with Facebook and Twitter.
Others will follow suit, and its impact will only continue to spread, especially once mainstream news sites pick it up. Not only that, Google is continuing to open up the API, enabling even greater forms of integration.
I’m finding Buzz to be useful as a replacement for Twitter, believe it or not. For me, Twitter is becoming less a tool for conversation and more a tool for broadcast-style announcement and information sharing. The 140 character limit always crimped my style when interacting with others. Buzz enforces no such character limitation.
Some may suggest that Buzz’s access being constrained to those who use Gmail may limit its use. That’s understandable. On the other hand, I find that the integration with Gmail makes it inherently more useful. And, there is the iPhone app as well.
Despite the naysayers, I think the future for Buzz is bright. Agree or disagree?