Do you think Google ever Googles itself?

The big news yesterday was the launch of Google’s newest feature, Buzz, furthering their reach into social media (I am not going to recap everything that was said by others; check out the links at the end of my blog post if you haven’t already been carpet bombed with information about Buzz).

What does this mean?

Facebook, Twitter, Yammer, Foursquare, Yelp… beware the Ides of March! Ok that is just over a month away and maybe a little too soon to worry about specifically but Google didn’t dominate search on day one. That being said, they have basically dominated in every space they have entered. Now they are pushing into every area of communications and with their business model built around understanding their customers’ needs they are always a threat to those not making billions in advertising.

What is Buzz really?

Buzz is a stepping stone to get the world to Google Wave. Why do I (and others) believe this? Because Wave was ahead of its time when launched but it truly is the next evolution in how we communicate. Truth.

Will Buzz succeed?

Maybe. Google has been in the social space with products like Orkut and OpenSocial, although they have not been embraced by the U.S. market. Also, Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, YouTube (yeah, it is Google’s), and many other sites are officially supported by Buzz but for most content on these sites that only means you can access that information within Buzz and not the other way around.

The biggest issue for Buzz’s potential success is that it is not integrated with Facebook (yet?). Facebook has over 400 million worldwide users compared to Gmails roughly 36 million, so this integration is key to Buzz even being comparatively relevant to Facebook in the social expanse. But, connect the dots of all-things-Google and give users an open social world online…

What is Google missing?

Google still hasn’t mastered the sexy user interface, nor addressed issues like many users have multiple email accounts making logging into Gmail to use Buzz not a central destination for all contacts, like is more common place in Facebook or Twitter. The UI issue is something Google just doesn’t get, in my eyes, but the multiple email issue is something that could be addressed via a Buzz aggregating app or by Google themselves with the future re-launch of Chrome.

Why is Google so successful?

How much does Buzz cost to use? How much does Gmail cost to use? How much did you spend last year on your Google Analytics? Do I need to keep going?

Google wins because Google gives people what they want for free and is there to provide a valuable service (advertising) to those who need it, when they need it, at a rate that is set based on demand. If there is a better business model out there I know it not.

What does the competition offer? Well, Yahoo and Microsoft (Hotmail specifically) are cluttered with ads and sloppy navigation not to mention that they charge for “premium” services that are equivalent, if not inferior, to Google’s free services. Plus, Google develops on the principle of being OPEN! They make a great product that works with the user and is free.

Buzz is free, so how does Google make money?

Advertising; and they make a lot of money doing it.

If Google wins, what will our reliance on Google mean?

It could mean great things or it could result in a “too big to fail” situation. Google makes amazing products in virtually every space of our social communication and gives them away. But, at some point that model could change. When there is a changing of the guards there is always the chance that the new keepers will try make a few changes; they might try to take advantage of our loyalty to maximize revenues in the short term at the cost of long term success.

Will Google eventually fail?

Yes, and it might be Facebook that takes them down, but man, will they make a mint in the process.

Mashable and TechCrunch articles from yesterday about Buzz:

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