For all the massive hype Google Wave stirred up a couple months back, Google Buzz could ultimately become the unassuming, unexpected and unlikely Facebook/Twitter killer.  Why? 

Google Buzz gains unprecedented benefit from the old maxim: "Location, Location, Location."  Centrally positioned and easily accessible within the GMail interface, Google Buzz is immediately at the fingertips of millions and millions of people who already spend a great deal of their days, interacting with their friends, families and colleagues through the GMail platform.  And its timeliness could not be better.  As Facebook celebrates milestone birthdays and Twitter mourns vacant @ccounts, the way people converse, talk, recommend and share "stuff" has continued to evolve by the minute. 

Increasingly, the questions are no longer:
- Will people share?
- What will people share?
- Who will they share it with?
- How frequently will they be willing to share?

The real question is becoming:
- What will be the primary, central platform through which people share?

Or, simply stated:
- What will be the single interface through which I communicate to my world?

From the Daily Jolt, to Friendster, to MySpace to Facebook to Twitter to FourSquare, many emerging platforms have vied to complement or even replace the communication platform which preceded it.  All the while, each platform silently fearing that in their pursuit to become the next DVD, they'd become the next Laserdisc*. 

Platforms such as TweetDeck and FriendFeed have attempted to capitalize upon our "social sharing" by attempting to corral all communications into a central hub.  However, no matter how rapid the rise of "social" interaction, and the success of these relevant yet ancillary platforms -- email remains a vehemently central platform through which we "collect" and "contribute" to dialogues, projects and initiatives that fuel our professional and private lives.  And while the Wall Street Journal is correct to recognize that the "Email Era" may soon indeed be over, no central hub has yet emerged as the platform to ultimately replace email.   

In that context, no Brand is better positioned than Google to ultimately lead that migration.  Google Buzz, bolstered by its unfair real estate and complemented by the functionality and cloud computing capabilities of Google Docs, empowers and positions Google as the Brand most likely to become our one-stop partner, resource and vehicle through which we engage and interact with our worlds.
 

*Aka, the same fear exhibited by bands seeking to become the next Radiohead, but who end up becoming the next Coldplay.