thearchivist.funGoogle tells Buzz users it will close in a few weeks
On 14 October 2011 Google announced on its blog that Google Buzz would close in a few weeks. CNN Money described Buzz as 18 months old, launched in February 2010. Google said the closing let it shift its social efforts to Google+ and was part of a wider plan to trim its product lineup, which a July post had described as 'more wood behind fewer arrows'. After the shutdown, users could not post on Buzz. They could still view their existing content on their Google Profile and download it with Google Takeout. Google+ had opened to the public in late September 2011, and Google's earnings report that week gave it 40 million users. Buzz is an example of a service whose public record was largely folded into a profile page, so the content stayed attached to the person but the conversation around it ended.
Context and provenance
The reporter also describes Buzz's launch privacy problems, a lawsuit and a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission. Those are background from the reporter, not reasons Google gave for the closing, so keep them apart from the stated reasons when citing.
For your own notes, record whether you are quoting the announcement, the profile page or a Takeout export, since each shows a different slice of what a Buzz post once was.
A Buzz post can be cited from the user's profile page before its removal, from a Takeout export, or from a web capture. Name which one you used and its date. The announcement gives the plan, 'in a few weeks', so avoid asserting an exact last day without a second source.
Transmission timeline
- 2010-02
Buzz launches.
- 2011-09
Google+ opens to the public (late September).
- 2011-10-14
Google announces that Buzz will close in a few weeks.
Why it matters
Google closed a young social product to concentrate on another, keeping posts viewable on profiles but ending the conversation.
What remains uncertain
The exact closing day is not given; the source says 'in a few weeks'.
Sources and evidence
- CNN Money: Google kills off Buzz, its ill-fated social network
Closing in a few weeks, shift to Google+, 'more wood behind fewer arrows', content kept on profile and exportable, February 2010 launch, 40 million Google+ users.
Editorial review: 2026-10-22. New evidence may change this account.