3 Changes Google should introduce in buzz

Google Buzz is a status update window tied with gmail. Its functionality is similar to Facebook and Twitter and allows the users to post messages, links, videos, and pictures. It is Google’s latest attempt to climb the social networking bandwagon as the number of internet users rise rapidly. Sure, Google did climb the wagon but there are some crucial things it missed. We’ve listed few features Google might want to add to buzz:

Collapsible Comments:

The key problem here is that the updates on the main interface are sorted according to the most recent comment. This means that the post getting large number of comments is likely to remain at the top of the feed and keep receiving more comments. Users will have keep scrolling for a long time before reaching the recent update. This may pose to be a serious problem in case there’s some groundbreaking news or a popular personality posts a comment. The user will have to keep scrolling for a really long time before reaching the recent comment.

Twitter and Facebook Connection:

Buzz needs a better connectivity with twitter and some integration with facebook. There should be a way to directly update buzz feeds on twitter. The problem that Google buzz faces here is that it allows a lot more characters than 140 characters allowed on twitter. Google buzz should allow some changes to increase the compatibility.

With Facebook, Buzz has no connection at all. The integration is probably the most desired feature but we don’t yet know how it could be feasible considering Google’s relationship with Facebook.

More options for sorting:

As stated earlier, the updates that are most commented tend to stick at the top and the new ones are buried at the bottom. Users are able to see only the most commented buzz and not the recent ones. If users are given separate options for the most recent buzzes and the most commented buzzes, it will help them sort the updates efficiently.

Are there any other changes that you would like to suggest? Please post your views in the comments section below.

Following relevant people on twitter helps

Social media is all about conversations and the importance of having meaningful conversations with ‘real’ people cannot be understated. Having said that, the process of finding and following relevant people is cumbersome but the labor is worth it. Only these people can enable you to carry out conversations and derive something useful out of it.

So, how do we find out the right people? You can do it the hard way or the easy way. The hard way would be to type ‘social media’ in twitter search and start following the people who show up on the results page. You will have to visit profiles individually to check out who they actually are. Add to that another idea of following the people who follow that relevant individual. Giving time to this process daily would increase your network gradually. An easier way of finding relevant people on twitter is through twitter tools such as twibes. Twibes allows you to search and follow relevant groups, which increases chances of interaction with thought leaders. Well, there’s no harm in trying both simultaneously!

Now, to the climax- how does following relevant people help? Well, here’s a list of few important points:

Increased confidence in efforts:

Following relevant people on twitter leads to increased confidence in efforts. When you know that you are going the right way and meeting the right people, the chances of being ‘successful’ increase. Again, success has a different meaning for different people. This meaning does not apply to those twitterers whose only objective is to gain followers. If you have the confidence of reaching the right people, you will be able have a more confident approach towards tweeting, writing blogs, and doing business. Additionally, the chances of getting important feedback increase as different people think differently. You can have multiple points of view on the topic you thought you knew best!

Source for blogtopics:

People keep twittering about many topics they find useful. If you get relevant people on the board, your tweetstream will itself be a strong source of blog topics. Isn’t that wonderful? Instead you finding the topics, the topics find you. Apart from topics, the constructive criticism on your blog can provide you with directions on what to do and what to stay away from in the next blogpost.

Creating Strategy:

There are numerous examples of people who hammer the nail on the head. If you connect with such people and assess their web presence, you will be in a better position to answer the question – why those people are successful. You can note down the metrics, track their reach, understand their strategy, and apply it to your business. Again, that depends on your focus, resources you have, and how successful you want to be. The key here is to find out what works and what doesn’t. Building the right strategy will close the distance between you and your goals and give you the motivation to proceed further.

There is a world full of intelligent people out there willing to share their knowledge if we only listen. If you find this blog useful or you have anything to add, please post it in the comments sections below. Thank you for your time in reading the post.