Google's new Buzz may be floating like a butterfly but will it sting like a bee? Yahoo and Microsoft think (read: HOPE) not.

If you're saying what the heck is Buzz anyways, you're not alone. When I first saw it on my Gmail page I was pretty unimpressed. I didn't even want to use it really because the last thing I need is another social network. Upon further inspection and research I may have other reasons to not use the service, but I'll get into those later. First, lets talk about the tech beef going on between some of the big dogs. 

According to a blog I just read on CNN Money, both Yahoo and Microsoft released official statements saying things to the effect of: people don't need more social networks, they need aggregation of everything that's out there. Microsoft just dumped a lot of money into Facebook and has also tried to link all aspects of our digital lives using Windows Live. Anyone out there using it? Worse yet, Yahoo started it's own social networking program called Buzz just two years ago! It was meant to link things like Facebook and Twitter to people's Yahoo messenger and mail accounts. Which is exactly what Google's Buzz does. 

Now there are other factors to consider before you jump into using Buzz. You don't have to sign up, if you have a Gmail account you just have to click a button. That meant that in just one day Buzz had over 170,000 subscribers without so much as a question. There are some features that seem a little too 1984 for me, like a location feature. If you have an Android (google's phone OS) phone, your location will be broadcast to people who are following you and you'll be able to see status updates from everyone in your general vicinity. I haven't used this feature myself, and don't know if I plan to, but it's certainly going to be strange seeing posts from people I don't know enjoying a coffee in the same Starbucks I'm in. I'm sure it won't take long before people will be advertising their services to me on my Sprint Hero just because I'm standing in line behind them at the bank. I've also heard stories of people's photos being uploaded from their phones without the user ever being notified and then used as a profile picture. Just what I want is a picture I'm supposed to use for my next Yelp review on my profile. 

There are some upsides though. Google is quickly becoming an all encompassing web experience where everything can be stored and accessed wirelessly. From Google docs and Google calendar, to picasa and YouTube, you have a place to put everything important to you so you can get to it easily. Besides that, if you're someone with a message that you want to get out to the world, your status updates will show up in Google search results. For those of you in the Real Estate business, that may be especially useful for posting things like "Condos for sale in Huntington Beach". Don't let me sway you either way, just check it out for yourself. Just don't air your frustrations on Buzz, unless your want your next client to find them.