While this isn't by any means a tech blog, the release of Google Buzz has made me question how people use the web. For the majority of the people that I know, the internet means: email, Facebook and Google's search page/Wikipedia. That's it. Now, that's certainly enough, don't get me wrong. But what if there was more?
A couple years ago, to me the internet meant only email and some random websites that I liked to check when I had no new emails. I would waste a lot of time looking for interesting things to read and because there wasn't much variety, I would get bored with what I found. I had no idea what services were available or how I could use the web to find really interesting content. A few years ago, when Evaristo and I were living in different countries, he sent me an email that mentioned that he had started using Google Reader and that I should try it. I clicked on the link that he had sent and sat there staring at the screen wondering what the heck was so cool about the page that I was staring at. I totally didn't get it. I closed the window and went on with my: Do I have any new emails?!/Please let there be new stuff to read on my favorite websites/Google Search for: Something+Remotely+Interesting. I eventually saw Evaristo using Google Reader. He always had something to read. Always. And it was always interesting and tailored to his likes. How could it be that he always had something really interesting to read when I would get bored in 10 minutes on the internet? He showed me how to use Google Reader and I have been hooked ever since. If I could only open one webpage, aside from Gmail, it would be my Google Reader page and here is why.
For starters, I love Google's range of products: Gmail, Google Earth, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Books, Picasa Web Albums, Blogger—I use them all. The center of my workflow is my Gmail account. I could not work well without it, but that's another post. The point is that as far as I am concerned, the quality of Google's products is well established, while the integration between them is fantastic and facilitates productive web activity. It should come as no surprise that Google Reader is also great.
I have found that the most difficult part of telling someone about Google Reader is not explaining Really Simple Syndication (RSS) or explaining how to navigate within the actual Google Reader page, but instead trying to explain the point of it. Why use a Reader? Why? I can really only say, watch this video from Common Craft. The video is now almost three years old, but it's still the best:
It seems logical, right? There is a bit of a learning curve, but like with Facebook or MySpace or whatever else you use, it's pretty easy to master. And the guy from the video is right; it is addictive, so be careful. Once you have subscribed to the websites that you visit most frequently, you will find that you can read all their new published content in minutes, instead of the half hour or hour that you spent before clicking between websites and searching blindly for new content. Little by little, you will begin to add new RSS feeds to your reader. Eventually, you will begin to wonder what else is out there as you will quickly finish reading everything in your reader, and therefore on the web, in minutes. Aside from excellent search features to find new and interesting websites and blogs to try out, Google Reader provides two very good options for finding new content and they are both based on shared items. This is where things start to get interesting. Check it out:
As you can see, shared items are in a way filtered. Someone somewhere had to think that they were interesting and therefore, you might as well. After you have finished reading your own items, you can check out what your friends have shared. Additionally, Google Reader has included a feed in everyone's reader called "Recommended Items". This feed is a never-ending list of items that you will most likely find interesting because they were compiled by Google based on your Google Reader trends, your web history and the most collectively popular shared items from everyone else's Google Readers. You will always find something here worth reading. And again, any item that you read, can be shared.
After years with Google Reader I, along with many other people, opened my email inbox a few days ago to find that Buzz had been launched and integrated into Gmail. For people who are familiar with Google Reader shared items or with social networks in general, Buzz may have seemed a bit redundant and like a little bit too much a little bit too late. Maybe not. Personally, I don't think that Buzz offers me anything new or a better way to participate in social networks. For people who have no experience with Google Reader shared items, Friend Feed, or Twitter for that matter, Buzz may have been seen as Google's attempt to take over Facebook's share of the social network market. I don't think this is the case. Facebook is Facebook and it serves a specific purpose that it has pulled off very well, although there are major privacy issues that we could debate over. In any case, I highly doubt Facebook is going to go anywhere any time soon, nor are people going to stop using Facebook in favor of Buzz. They are completely different, with different philosophies and with very different platforms. For people who are not familiar with shared items, Buzz will either be very annoying or a good way to find new content on the web.
For people who share items via Google Reader, Buzz serves no new purpose unless you integrate your other activity on the web into Buzz. For example, did you upload pictures to a particular hosting site? Have Buzz automatically display them. Did you post something new on a blog? Have Buzz display it. I chose not to do either of these things because I have already done so using Facebook as my platform and I am very happy with the setup. My picture uploads from Picasa (which I haven't updated in years) automatically load into Facebook and my Facebook status always displays my most recent comment via Twitter.
In theory, I think Buzz is a good idea; however, I really don't like that Buzz is integrated into Gmail. Personally, because Gmail is the center of my workflow, I don't want it to become mixed up with social networking stuff. In truth, I haven't been that pleased with how Gmail and Buzz work together; in particular, that responses to Buzz items are sent as emails to my inbox without the option to turn this feature off (although I am sure it's coming). Who made that awful decision? We have things to discuss. In any case, my Buzz is limited to what my friends from Google Reader are already sharing and I don't need to see it again in Gmail. However, on the upside, I do think that Buzz might entice people to use Google Reader if they become at all curious as to where the items shared in Buzz come from. I'm interested to see what happens.
