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Comment by dasil003 | Hacker News Reader

God I feel like I'm being trolled here, but I'll bite.

Let's assume Google Buzz is undeniably better than Facebook.

Let's also assume no one is really invested in the 90% of Facebook functionality that Google Buzz doesn't address.

Hell, let's assume any user who tries Google Buzz will instantly declare eternal allegiance to Larry and Sergey and immediately delete their Facebook account.

Even with all those dramatically dubious flamebait claims, how the hell is Google going to get everyone to try Buzz. Since when do better products automatically win in the tech marketplace? If Calacanis is going for pageviews then I say well-played, but if he actually believes this tripe then he's dumber than he is arrogant.

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Look at the sick amount on activity on this thread.... and this is day one of Buzz.

http://bit.ly/daBl66

100+ people like it. ~200 comments from quality people.

This is game over for Facebook for everyone who doesn't play Farmville.

I've never seen pickup like that, and that is with just 2,000 followers.

I have 25k followers on my fanpage on Facebook and 5k on my normal facebook page.

in fact, i've never seen pickup like that on my blog with 250k uniques a month.

the only thing close to that i've seen is Twitter, but those responses are limited to the 90k followers i have and 140 characters each.

Also, it's not just this thread... scoble is having the same experience: more activity than ever.

it's a targeted network: people you've spoken to + 100% reach for your comments with that network since they HAVE TO go to their inbox.

this really is unprecedented: the reach of email with the power of social networking.

I'll buy that Buzz might create a new niche. Or rather, fill the niche that FriendFeed was aiming at.

But that's not the same niche as Twitter, and it's certainly not the same niche as Facebook.

There is a significant portion of twitter though who probably would see value here, seems to make sense for a lot of the tech stuff on twitter.

Your right about facebook though, it doesn't seem the kind of thing that will pull in the less tech inclined. Although some people would have said that about facebook, with it's plain unchanging layout compared to all the things people could do on myspace.

this really is unprecedented: the reach of email with the power of social networking

My Android phone email alerts me every time someone comments, likes, or writes on my page on FB. This is not unprecedented.

well alerts are one thing, but having your address book become your social networking instantly AND having your social network updates threaded into email?!?! that's hot.

don't know of anyone ever doing that...

I also fail to see the value add in networking threads being updated in email. The gmail/email interface sucks for that type of interaction. That's pretty much why the social network sites exist, because email threads just aren't the right face for those types of interactions. Especially when you have tens of general purpose messages interspersed with your social stuff.

"quality people" is the problem. Facebook has already broken out of the insiderish valley echo chamber and has mass appeal. That's a really tough thing to overcome.

Hey Jason,

I really can't agree with your assessment. You and Scoble - and I like you both a lot - are in a vastly different position than the people Google made Buzz for.

You guys are pundits (not in a bad sense - you're thought leaders).

Google made Buzz for end users and enterprise. I really don't think it's useful for end users at this point. Too many are reporting problems and dissatisfaction with the UI. As for enterprise, we'll have to see what they end up rolling out.

I appreciate that Buzz has worked well for you so far, but I feel you're being overly enthusiastic about the product.

Look at the sick amount on activity on this thread.... and this is day one of Buzz.

Right. The day when every bored geek in the valley gives it a spin.

Mark my words, a year from today Facebook will be in no weaker position than it is today, and Buzz may or may not be relevant, but it certainly won't be dwarfing Facebook—not by a long shot. If you disagree name your metrics, and I'll do a writeup a year from today and whore it up here on Hacker News.

Typically I don't consider you to be as much of a koolaid-drinker as Scoble, but man you really went off the deep-end this time.

you're comparing me to scoble?!?!?! i think i'm going to go jump off a bridge.

It's already in Gmail.

Judging from my group of friends, most people who use Facebook do not use Gmail. I'm not sure how well this transfers to the rest of the world, but for almost all of my Facebook friends, none of them will hear of Buzz through Gmail.

Locking it to the gmail account is a bad idea. It might make business sense for Google but for becoming a Facebook or Twitter killer, it is not with that limitation.

agree... and i bet they will make it part of your google profile and available for just that.

It's a great idea in light of Facebook incorporating more email features into it's services.

I doubt it will stay that way. They'll probably release an API and let people build apps for it.

They have done so already. There is sample code.

I presume they'll have a standalone Buzz application at the 2.0 or something similar. That will let an established gmail-only social graph generate lots of activity and use, seeming enticing to yahoo and hotmail (and all third-party email account providers) users that can now join/be invited in on the social-web-2.0-sharing fun.

Doesn't hold over in my group of friends. We're on the young end of the spectrum (16-19 years old), but among people our age in our area (east coast, near DC but in Maryland), I feel like two assumptions that are commonly made and are usually right are a) everyone has a Facebook account and b) everyone has a Gmail account, except for the 1 out of 100 people with a Yahoo account.

I mean, I might be exaggerating, but among my friends I can name at max 10 people who don't have a Gmail and a Facebook. I'm guessing that the true proportion lies somewhere between the extreme situations we're in.

I don't use either, but if I need gmail to try buzz, it's a non-starter for me.

Most people associate email\gmail with work.

Most people associate facebook with procrastination\lols.

More people prefer to procrastinate\lol than to work.

Therefore more people will prefer to Facebook than to Buzz.

"Since when do better products automatically win in the tech marketplace?"

Of course they don't always win, but this is what everyone said when MySpace was on top of the world. If Buzz is genuinely better then Facebook needs to be worried. Google has every other ingredient necessary to win.

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