Google Buzz continues its recent mini revival, with news that superb Android Twitter app Seesmic now incorporates Google’s location-based social networking… thing. If you’re still refusing to even think about using Buzz, the 1.4 Seesmic update also includes inline previews of pics shared by your friends using image uploading tools, plus OAuth connectivity for your convenience. It’s an update worth getting. [Seesmic blog]
Part of the problem with web apps is that they’re not as immediately accessible as something that’s right there on your phone, and with a service like Buzz, if you can’t update your status nearly instantly, it’s not gonna happen. Hence, Google’s new Buzz widget for Android (1.6 and above) makes a hell of a lot of sense, and might actually get me back to using Buzz, at least on mobile. Uploading in the background, also smart. [Google Mobile]
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Look, this video plays pretty loose with the facts. But there’s no question that it speaks to those deeper concerns about Google: that it’s so big, so invasive. And when you add it all up, the final picture’s a little scary.
Google may be aware they should’ve spent longer testing Buzz, but according to their VP of product management, it doesn’t pose a threat to Twitter and Facebook. Instead, “it’s filling a niche, which is not currently met in the market”.
Despite the apologies and quick-fixes, Google still has a lot of explaining to do about Buzz. And if the FTC decides to hear the Electronic Privacy Information Centre’s, they could have to do more than just explain.
Google has admitted that their Buzz testing process was equivalent to mine: Click enable, then disable it 90 seconds later. They said to the BBC that their testing sucked donkey balls, which is why many people hate it. The excuse:
