If the rumors are to be believed, Google’s Gmail is getting a Twitter-like status update feed as early as this week. Here’s the scoop.
The short-burst update format is exemplified by Twitter, but Facebook has had status updates for years, and even Yahoo! Mail added a similar feature last year. These updates enable users to keep in touch with friends and share web content, often with just a click.
Social networking wouldn’t be that big a jump for Google — between YouTube, Picasa, and Google Apps, they certainly offer enough content in-house such that a one-click “share this on Gmail” button would give this hypothetical service a huge head start on its rivals. And as an avid Google Talk user, I can tell you that many people already use the status and away message options to chronicle their life, so the adjustment period would be small.
Since this service isn’t yet official (and may never be), there’s no information on whether or not this functionality would be included in Google Apps Enterprise Edition for resellers, but from where I’m standing that would be a no-brainer. The success of startups like Socialwok prove that there is a market for social aspects laid on Google’s productivity applications.
As someone with accounts on every Web 2.0 “people platform” out there, my only question is the one I always have when I think about the enterprise and social networking: is it useful? Or is it just another way for companies to spend a lot of money to enable employees to waste a lot of time?
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Posted In: Software as a Service and Hardware as a Service
Tags: FaceBook | Gmail | Google | Google Apps | google apps enterprise edition | picasa | social networking | status update | Twitter | yahoo! mail | YouTube
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This post reminds me of the once highly coveted orkut.com invitation (google’s failed social networking site). I guess they should have allowed open enrollment sooner before myspace then facebook took over the social network scene.
I dont think I can even remember my orkut login now, but I remember techie friends begging me for an invite some years back.
Andy@1: I agree with the similarity, but there’s one major difference: Gmail is a million times more ubiquitous than Orkut could ever hope to be.
@Matthew I would argue the established incumbents are too entrenched but having watched myspace turn to an “abandoned online themepark” (per Saturday Night Live) I will reconsider and stay tuned.
One key difference between Google Buzz and the other social networks is the use of open standards which will give is some platform characteristics. Not sure if the that will be enough to give it traction but it is an interesting differentiator.
Check out this article over on ReadWriteWeb for more:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_google_buzz_is_disruptive_open_data_standards.php
Daniel Jefferies
Newmind Group, Inc.
http://www.twitter.com/newmindgroup/
I joined up with a new google account just to see what all the “buzz” was about. I am finding myself ackwardly addicted to some of the new stuff google has done.
Speaking of dev one of my buddies already wrote an app using the API. It searches any user’s “buzz”
http://etai.net23.net/parsebuzz/parsebuzz.php
Andy Myers
http://www.andymyers.net
I joined up with a new google account just to see what all the “buzz” was about. I am finding myself ackwardly addicted to some of the new stuff google has done.
Speaking of dev one of my buddies already wrote an app using the API. It searches any user’s “buzz”
http://etai.net23.net/parsebuzz/parsebuzz.php