On Wave and Buzz, the Google Way!

International Journalist Community listening to the Executive at Google Inc.

By Saadia Qamar reports from San Francisco, California.

We have heard primarily what Google Inc is all about but added to that there is Google Wave and Google Buzz that has created a stir in the world of Social Networking. Talking to Victoria Katsarou, from the Google Communications, one indeed gets an insight into what exactly are these both terminology in the world of innovative hi-tech.

Google Buzz is, according to Katsarou; “a new way to share updates, photos, videos and more, and start conversations about the things you find interesting. It’s built right into Gmail and available on mobile devices. The launch of Google Buzz took place on February 9th, 2010 and within days tens of millions of people had checked it out.”

So what are the basic features of  Buzz, Katsarou explains, “At Google, we’re committed to making the web more social. Gmail is an inherently social communication product, and our mobile efforts center around helping people harness the power of the internet to be more social everywhere they go. With Buzz, we’re leveraging these two successful product areas to make it easier for users to interact with people they know in new ways. We believe Buzz offers some unique ways of solving user needs, with innovative features like inbox integration, fast-and-full-screen photo viewing, and location-based posting from mobile devices.”

Google Inc

And what about Google Wave, Katsarou informs me, “The project started almost 3 years ago in Sydney and has always been part of Google.” And since it is still under review, it has limited access to the public in general all over the world. Stating firmly, Katsarou says, “Google Wave is still a preview product and in English only right now. We want to be sure we can support all users before opening it up completely, but look forward to making it openly available to people globally. Users can currently request an invitation at wave.google.com. We currently have over a million users and look forward to that number growing significantly in the next couple years.”

I ask is Google Wave interconnected in some way with Google Buzz? Katsarou says, “At this time, Google Wave is not connected to Google Buzz although there are some similar features like embedded photos and videos.”

Last but not the least, in Victoria Katsarou’s view, “We see Google Wave as more of a productivity application — one that helps groups of people get things done together more easily than through social media tools or communication and networking products.”