G-mail is going social.
In an attempt to challenge Facebook’s social network dominance, Google announced that it will offer a new version of g-mail that incorporates more social networking functions. Included in the upgrade will be the incorporation of photos and videos as well as the ability to update your status.
Google will hold a press conference at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters today to show off the new features.
And while Google may be the current 900-pound gorilla of the Internet, the growth of Facebook isnt’ be ignored by the search engine company. Last year, Facebook grew by 105%, attracting marketing dollars to the social networking site in record numbers.
“If Google can get you to do more things in Gmail, they can sell more ads, because you’ve spent more time there,” says Danny Sullivan, editor of the Search Engine Landblog.
That Google would feel the heat from Facebook makes sense. Many former Google executives now work at Facebook, including Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, who at Google helped build the lucrative AdWords pay-per-click ad program. Facebook has a similar pay-per-click program now.
Facebook invites members to share photos, videos and status updates on their personalized home pages. Advertisers reach out there with ads that are targeted by age, gender, location and more.
Wedding photographers, for instance, can reach out to women in a specific ZIP code who are engaged to be married.
“Initially, Google misunderstood social media and its significance,” says Greg Sterling, an analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. “They’ve got the religion now and have been trying ever since to add more social utility. Social is how the Web has evolved.”
Yet he thinks that bringing social tools to Gmail doesn’t make sense. “Gmail is a good product as it is. I’m not sure these tools add anything except to make it more bloated.”
Google recently added a new social search feature that can in part show you “results from people in your social circle.”
In order to participate, Google users first must fill out profile information, similar to Facebook, which lists interests, contacts and friends. Sullivan says few have participated because, unlike Facebook, it’s not mandatory.
In the end, no matter how big Facebook eventually becomes, Sterling says it will “never take away” Google’s core business: search.
“It could shave off a little search volume and might take some ads away from Google, but the end result will be small,” he says.
Buzz is the first program that I started using without ever considering using it in the first place. It was just there, and I got sucked in.
Clever Google… Very clever.
I hated the fact that it was just there, especially since I clicked on the “no thanks” link when the splash page popped up. It’s like Facebook but more invasive. I turned it off, thankyouverymuch.
I used to like the FireFox and G-Mail for its speed and simplicity.
Both are getting bloated with features which I could easily do without. Still, in the hope that someday I might befriend someone, I kept Buzz around. Even posted a few things no one read.