Looking at Different Functionalities of Google Buzz

This day will go down in history as the day of Google Buzz. After Google's press event (which we live-blogged and discussed here) Google put up several posts explaining more about the "buzzworthy" new product.

"Google Buzz is a new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting," says Gmail and Google Buzz Product Manager Todd Jackson. "It's built right into Gmail, so you don't have to peck out an entirely new set of friends from scratch — it just works. If you think about it, there's always been a big social network underlying Gmail. Buzz brings this network to the surface by automatically setting you up to follow the people you email and chat with the most. We focused on building an easy-to-use sharing experience that richly integrates photos, videos and links, and makes it easy to share publicly or privately (so you don't have to use different tools to share with different audiences). Plus, Buzz integrates tightly with your existing Gmail inbox, so you're sure to see the stuff that matters most as it happens in real time."

"We've relied on other services' openness in order to build Buzz (you can connect Flickr and Twitter from Buzz in Gmail), and Buzz itself is not designed to be a closed system," he says. "Our goal is to make Buzz a fully open and distributed platform for conversations. We're building on a suite of open protocols to create a complete read/write developer API, and we invite developers to join us on Google Code to see what is available today and to learn more about how to participate."

We looked at the promo video for Google Buzz in another article, but Google has also now provided one focusing specifically on Buzz's mobile aspects.

Google Buzz Tech Lead Edward Ho talks about the Gmail aspects of Buzz:

To make sure you don't miss out on the best part of sharing, Buzz sends responses to your posts straight to your inbox. Unlike static email messages, buzz messages in your inbox are live conversations where comments appear in real time.

You can follow the specific people whose posts you want to see, but Buzz also recommends posts from people you're not directly following, often ones where your friends are having a lively conversation in the comments. If you're not interested in a particular recommendation, just click the "Not interested" link and your feedback will help improve the recommendations system. Buzz also weeds out uninteresting posts from the people you follow — collapsing inactive posts and short status messages like "brb." These early versions of ranking and recommendations are just a start; we're working on improvements that will help you automatically sort through all the social data being produced to find the most relevant conversations that matter to you.

Software engineer Justin Zaren talks about photo sharing through Picasa on Google Buzz:

Google Buzz is built right into Gmail and is fully integrated with Picasa Web Albums. Any photos you upload to and share from Buzz are automatically stored in a new unlisted album in your Picasa Web Albums account, so you can view them from either site. It's easy to upload multiple photos at once from Buzz - just click "Insert: Photo" from a new post, select "upload files," and click "Add photos to post" once they're fully uploaded. Since photos are meant to be viewed fast and full-screen, clicking a photo in Buzz opens an embedded viewer designed to give you an optimal viewing experience.

Google Reader users can link their accounts with Google Buzz as well. "Just head over to Gmail and you'll be able to link up your Google Reader account with just a few clicks," says Google's Mihai Parparita  on the Google Reader Blog. "Then, anything you share in Reader will automatically be posted to Buzz. Comments are even shared between both products, so you can view and participate in the conversation wherever you'd prefer."

Remember that Google Buzz is rolling out over the next few days, so if you don't have it yet, you will soon. Google Buzz will become available to businesses and schools using Google Apps, with added features within a few months, according to Google Enterprise Product Management Director Matthew Glotzbach.

Read this article if you want to see what I have to say about search implications and business uses of Google Buzz.

Have You Read This?

> Will Google Buzz Change the Social Media Game?

> Whose Got The Buzz: Yahoo or Google?

> Is Gmail Google's Real Social Network?

Wordpress Blogging from Android Devices

Wordpress has announced the launch of Wordpress for Android (1.0). It is currently available in the Android Market. A lot of what we do on the web is now done from mobile devices, so it only makes sense that this would include blog management.

While it may not be the most convenient way to write a new post, users may find it particularly helpful for at least keeping up with comments and responding. The following clip shows what it can do:

Features of Wordpress for Android include:

- Configure and manage multiple blogs

- Comment moderation including the ability to reply to comments

- Create and Edit Posts including categories, tags and photos

- Create and Edit Pages

- Get notified of new comments in the Android notification bar

"Users of the popular wpToGo app for Android will feel right at home in WordPress for Android 1.0, as the source from wpToGo has been used as the foundation for the WordPress app.," says Wordpress. "wpToGo will be discontinued as all development efforts move forward with the Open Source WordPress for Android app."

There is a forum set up for Wordpress for Android discussion. Users can converse about troubleshooting, weigh in on future development in the requests and feedback area, or test beta builds of future versions in the beta testing area.
 

Have You Read This?

> Google Connects Friends on WordPress Blogs

> WordPress Lets Bloggers Help Make the Mobile Web Better

> WordPress Receives Grammar Check Plug-In

Customer Connections Now Important for Google Results

If you are one of those people still skeptical about the business uses of social media, you may be interested to know that Google's Social Search is no longer just an experiment. Though it does have the beta tag on it, it is now mainstream. This is something we've all known would come sooner or later, but now it's here.

Have you established enough connections to do well in social search? Comment here.

If people were already seeing different search results from one another before, that is really going to be true now, now that Google is plugging results based on the individual's social circle into any given SERP. This is one of the many ways SEO is changing, and it would appear that any business looking to get some play in Google search, would do well to have as many connections established as possible, via various social networking sites and tools.

Keep in mind that the social circle is based upon information that Google has about you from your Google account. You can see your list of connections anytime from here (assuming you have a Google account). It pulls connections from your Google Contacts, and any services you have listed on your Google profile (assuming you have services listed on your profile). If you have Twitter listed for example (Facebook connections are not public), anyone you are connected to through one of those services is fair game for potential search results.

Google's thinking is that if the user is connected to certain people, results from those people will have relevance because you know and trust them. Google says, "You can improve social search results for your friends and contacts by linking to content you have created such as blogs, photos and videos on your Google profile."

"We've been having a lot of fun with Social Search. It's baby season here on our team — two of us just had little ones, and a third is on the way," the company says in the announcement. "We're all getting ready to be parents for the first time and we have lots of questions. So, what do we do? We search Google, of course! With Social Search, when we search for [baby sleep patterns], [swaddling] or [best cribs], not only do we get the usual websites with expert opinions, we also find relevant pages from our friends and contacts. For example, if one of my friends has written a blog where he talks about a great baby shop he found in Mountain View, this might appear in my social results. I could probably find other reviews, but my friend's blog is more relevant because I know and trust the author."

Appearing in social search results means:

1. Make sure you have all of your important links on your Google Profile.
2. Make as many connections as possible.
3. Encourage customers to follow you via social networks.
4. Participate in social media so people will engage with you.
5. Encourage sharing of content (there are plenty available social media buttons)
6. Include social network info on business cards/signage, etc.
7. Include social network info in your online advertising
8. There are probably many more worthwhile tips (if you have any, share them in the comments).

Google's social search doesn't end with regular web search. They're adding it to image search, and who knows what else. Look for a lot more features to become part of social search, as Google leaves that Beta tag on. Let's not forget that Gmail only left beta last year, and I don't have to tell you they've added a lot to that over the years.

Just remember that social results will always be clearly marked as such on Google's SERPs. They will be accompanied by a heading that says "Results from your social circle". Still, for traditional SEO it is just one more thing to compete with as far as page real estate. That's why social is a much more of an important part of search than ever.

Google has been making many moves over the last couple years that seem to slowly turn it more and more into its own social network. Now that its profiles have a direct impact on search results, how people view Google in this light is likely to change significantly. Once more and more average users start to realize the social features are being integrated more into their everyday searches, they may find themselves getting sucked into using Google as more of a social tool, as opposed to just search.

What are your thoughts on Google's social search? Discuss here.

Have You Read This?

> Google Profiles Go to the SERPs

> Google Launches Social Search Experiment

> Can Search Engine Optimization Survive Google?

Looking at Polaroid’s Photo Sharing Service

A couple months ago Polaroid launched a new online photo and video sharing service called Polaroid Studio. It didn't initially receive a whole lot of buzz, but WebProNews stopped by their exhibit at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas earlier this month, and got a look at just what Polaroid Studio's all about.

You can use the service to upload photos or videos, but it offers a unique feature in that you can customize what your photo albums look like. You can choose backgrounds, pick how many photos you want to display across, up and down, etc.

Social media hounds may particularly like the Facebook app, which lets you easily import the photos into Facebook from Polaroid Studio. The site also has a store right in it where you can purchase various items with your photos on them. If you want a coffee mug, a Calendar, playing cards, or whatever, look no further than the site where you are already keeping your photos. That's kind of convenient.

The service is still young, but so far it claims already over 62 million photos. They are also about to launch a pro version for professional photographers that they will be able to take and brand as their own.

Have You Read This?

> Checking Out Boxee's Version of the Future of TV

> A Close Up with Sony's New Personal Internet Viewer

> The World's Smallest USB Drive and Portable Hard Drive

Next Page »