I’ve been an avid user of Gmail for the past six years.  Yesterday I was reading all about Google Buzz and their attempt to succeed in the social media frenzy.  Sure enough when I logged into my Gmail account, I saw the “Buzz” icon right below my inbox… so naturally I clicked on it.  Wow, I already have several people following me and following several people.  Apparently, I’m connected with everyone in my address book.  Since Google Buzz integrates with Gmail without the need for users to sign up, Google instantly added 176 million users to their social network platform… not too shabby of a start.

It’s no secret that Google is anxious to compete in the social media space.  While their social media platform Orkut has not reached the masses as Facebook has, this has not seemed to deter Google.  Buzz seems to be a much more strategic way of penetrating the market.

While it’s intriguing to have built-in connectivity features in my email, I must admit it feels a little invasive.  There comes a time when consumers want the convenience of aggregated information on a single platform.  Who has time to login to dozens of different systems to manage their information, respond to questions, and provide updates?  I’ve got login credentials for so many accounts – I can’t even keep track of them all.  It would literally take me a few hours just to login to each of them for 5 minutes each on a daily basis.

In order to solve this issue, I think we’ll begin to see a convergence of the top players in this space.  While some of the systems are already compatible, most users want a single stop destination.  Think Facebook on steroids.  The best features of the top platforms need to collaborate and partner to develop the ultimate social media networking destination.

What are your thoughts?  Is there an easy solution to all of these disparate systems?  Is Google Buzz the savior?

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