Howell+D.+Strategy_Report

Howell D.

TO: Proximity social networking team FROM: Dennis Howell DATE: March 2, 2010 SUBJECT: Google Buzz strategy analysis

We were asked to create a strategy report for a social networking company. Bellow is my strategy report for Google Buzz. Google Buzz is a new social network, so very little is know about it now. Google seems to have a viable strategy for Google Buzz. I would advise clients to wait a few months to gauge how Gen Y will react to Google Buzz before making a decision to pursue it.


 * Profile**

Google Buzz is the new social networking site created by Google. Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google on January 1996 (Wikipedia 2010). Google was incorporated in 2008 and it is now located in Mountain View California. Eric E. Schmidt is the current CEO of Google (Google Finance 2010).

Google is a global technology business that focuses on information dispersion. Google aims to help users organize information and provide advertisers cost efficient ways of delivering ads (10-K 2010).

Over the last 3 years Google's revenue have steadily increased from $17 billion in 2007 to $24 billion in 2009. Advertising a ccounted for about 97% of Google's revenue in 2008 and 2009, which was slightly lower than the 99% in 2007 (10-k 2010).


 * Competitive Landscape**

Consumer power is the prevailing force in the social networking industry. Consumers are free to switch between almost any social networking site they wish with no cost. The rivalry between Facebook and Myspace is secondary force in social networking since there is nothing preventing consumers from using multiple social networks.


 * Google Buzz's Strategy**

Google plans expand the market by integrating Buzz with it's other popular services such as Gmail and it's mobile apps. It hopes that this integration will attract some of it's users from it's other services.

Google plans to take away market share from Facebook and Myspace by creating a convenient alternative. It believes that it's comparative advantage is information management. Google's experience running the Google search engine and Gmail demonstrate this ability. Google plans to find "relevance in the noise" of social information on the internet (Google blog 2010).


 * Gen Y Implications**

Google Buzz has the potential to be a competitor in the social networking industry. Google already the name recognition, so large number of people who are familiar with Google's reputation would be likely to try it. This should expose the strengths and weakness of Google Buzz relatively soon. If Gen Y is looking for an alternative to the Facebook/Myspace dichotomy, then Google Buzz might fit the profile. Myspace is a dying social network, so the there is room at the top.

As of right now, I would hold on Google Buzz until it matures. It could end up replacing Myspace as Facebook's main competitor, or it could be another internet failure. Buzz has been in operation for less than a month, so it is too soon to tell if Buzz will be successful. I would wait for a couple of months to gauge how Gen Y reacts to to Buzz and allow the kinks work themselves out. If Gen Y embraces it, then I would advise clients to jump in.

References: "Google" Retrieved from //Google Wikipedia//. web. February 19 <[]> "10 K report" Retrieved from //Yahoo Finance.// web. February 19 < []> "Introduction to Google Buzz" Retrieved from //Google Blog.// web. February 19 // "Google inc" Retrieved from //Google Finance.// web. February 19 <[]>