Reputation Management Online

A while ago Web Faceoff series conducted a survey asking users to vote between Twitter and Facebook as their favourite social networking site. Well the results, Facebook marginally managed (48%) over Twitter (40%). And now here comes something new – Google’s Buzz.

Google had minimal success in the social-networking field compare to Twitter and Facebook. But with this latest tool, Google is looking to give them a run for their money, and are hopeful to catch up with the leaders of the social networking world. They have closely integrated with their Gmail service to target a percentage of that market.

Google is famous for keeping things simple and easy, but with “Buzz” things were not quite upright. The major concern was their feeble approach to privacy.  Secondly, it was about “Auto-suggest” not like Twitter or Facebook where it will  suggest, but Buzz will allow users to follow you automatically.

So is it worth to shift base from Twitter or FaceBook? Another nagging issue was to do with convergence, most of the users didn’t like the idea of having one service for all. They would prefer their email to be here and social networking to be there and did not want to mix it. So it was all about changing human habits.

True to it’s reputation, last weekend google buzz team quickly amended the tool based on users’ feedback.

“It’s been an exciting and challenging week for the Buzz team,” says Buzz/Gmail Product Manager Todd Jackson. We’ve been getting feedback via the Gmail help forums and emails from friends and family, and we’ve also been able to do something new”

Started on a shaky note, Buzz is already showing signs of potential. Will it be able to phase out Facebook? It’s too early to predict, but then anything can happen. How do you rate “Buzz”? Share your views.