Yahoo Pulse vs Google Buzz
The dominance of social networking sites (SNS) such as FaceBook and Twitter have started to ring alarm bells for search engine giants Google and Yahoo. Surfers log on to their profiles on FaceBook and or Twitter and spend most of their time on updating their profiles and keeping up with friends. Naturally this is not an ideal scenario for either Google or Yahoo who want users to stick to them. This is why Google announced Google Buzz which was an attempt to lure surfers away from other networking sites to a social page developed by Google. Yahoo was not to be left behind as it came up with its own Yahoo Pulse to counter the antics of Google. In this article we will try to differentiate between the two services, Google Buzz and Yahoo Pulse, by highlighting their features and functions.
Those who use either Yahoo mail or Gmail have to make their accounts. Yahoo Pulse and Google Buzz have integrated their new offerings with existing accounts of the users and try to satiate their social needs by allowing users to make and update profiles and send messages just as they do when they are on FaceBook or Twitter. But there are inherent differences between these two services.
The most striking difference between Yahoo Pulse and Google Buzz is that whereas Yahoo Pulse has integrated itself with FaceBook and allows the users to view their newsfeeds in FaceBook without having to leave Yahoo page, this is not possible with Google Buzz. Beginning with FaceBook, Yahoo has plans to integrate other social networking sites like Twitter and Linked In to allow users to switch to any of these sites without having to open a new tab. User can cross post to Pulse and then to FaceBook without having to switch the home page of Yahoo which is great. Google on the other hand tried to bypass FaceBook and Twitter which was not much liked by the users with the result that yahoo Pulse is becoming more popular among the users.
User interface is another feature that differentiates between Yahoo Pulse and Google Buzz. While UI is smooth and have variety of options in Yahoo Pulse, lack of features mean the interface is not that easy for the users. Another issue that differentiates the two services is privacy. Yahoo Pulse has a privacy menu that allows users to choose which of their content is visible to other users and friends, Buzz has only Share with the world option that disappoints the users. There are even privacy tips shared by Yahoo Pulse to manage the privacy of online identity. However, it is usability and initial setting up of account where Google scores over Yahoo. Another point in favor of Google Buzz is that it can be used on iPhones and Android based phones whereas the compatibility of Yahoo Pulse is not so clear with other platforms.