Is Google Buzz too much too soon — or too little too late?

Every month, Google quietly rolls out new features and tools that 99% of its users never hear about.

So why did Google Buzz, one of the most complex social network offerings in Google’s history, get pushed out to more than 150 million Gmail users in the first few days?

The answer seems clear: Google is gunning at Facebook, and this Clash of the Tech Titans just saw the release of its first Kraken.

But here’s the problem: Google Buzz isn’t a replacement for Facebook. If anything, this new tool for sharing links and photos from Gmail is a replacement for FriendFeed, a site that never really gained mainstream acceptance in the first place.

If you were one of the many who got Google Buzz added to your Gmail account today, I bet you had one of the following reactions:

1. Normal human response: “Oh my, what is this? Looks complicated. Please get it out of my way so I can go back to checking e-mail.”
2. Marketing professional response: “Oh great, another social took I have to try and master in the next few days or risk being left behind like a 35-year-old on MySpace.
3. Social media nerd response: “Oh wow, it's like FriendFeed and Google Wave had a cute little baby!"

I’ll be shocked if you logged in, saw Google Buzz for yourself and said, “Hallelujah! My dreams of a social information utopia have finally been made flesh!”

I’m not saying that Google Buzz is a bad idea. I was pleasantly surprised by how intuitive the service flows and updates, and it's already made for some great conversations.

As someone whose “home base” is Gmail, I have to say I like having ongoing conversations without having to pull up Facebook or FriendFeed. In this way, it’s an improvement over Google Reader, which often sparks great conversations about shared blog posts despite being a terribly inconvenient forum for it.

As always, time will tell whether this is a game-changer or just another Jaiku, the Twitter competitor that Google bought but never found a way to leverage.

So what do you need to know about Google Buzz today?

Google now has a service that lets you share links and photos with your network from the comfort of your Gmail account.

Put it that way, and it’s clear to see why this is a useful addition to Gmail. But in practice, I fear it will simply be too much for people who’ve probably long since invested that social energy in Facebook and just want to check their e-mail.

Comments

[Kris Cain (@littletechgirl)]

Per the discussion we were just having over on Buzz, I will post my comment here. :) I agree that it will take a while to get the full feel and benefit. And I suspect that Google may add some stuff in the near future. It just seems to be a tiny bit unfinished to me. We will see.

[Ike]

Oh... and if you work in an office, you probably can't access it because you have to go through GMail.

[Dan Wood]

Too true. My first response was "wtf? Goodbye facebook" but then I realized that much of my network is not using gmail... so I can't share with them. Even my wife uses yahoo and her corporate email address (a microsoft partner company), so I can only share info with her in MSN messenger, BlackBerry Messenger, or on Facebook (or actually face to face, of course).
Facebook's advantage will be that they are email agnostic. How will google ever answer to that?
I can see, with Google's convergence of features such as YouTube, Picasa photos, gmail and google Docs (and Google Business Apps) that they are quietly pulling the rug our from underneath everyone in so many ways, but if anything, Buzz will be just a small piece of that puzzle.
And as you say, my second reaction was "wtf? Get this Buzz thing out of my face, I'm just trying to check email!"

[social bookmarking services]

Only problem is it requires gmail. You also can't segment your contacts as far as crowd-sourcing or follower rules you've set up.

[Keith Major]

For a non-Facebook user, Google Buzz has been a great way for me to have conversations with Gmail friends that I never get a chance to talk to. Although most conversations end up in Chicago sports debates, this is a nice and easy way to keep contacts close and enemies closer.. I find myself looking for entries in Buzz more than my email because Buzz is waaaay more fun to check and reply too. Google's awesome and I'm just another gullible consumer falling in love with their Midas-touch.