When Google launched Google+, it didn’t take long for some of us to speculate about the demise of Google Buzz. Now, we don’t have to speculate much more because Google has come out and said they’re shutting it down, along with a few other services.
“In a few weeks we’ll shut down Google Buzz and the Buzz API, and focus instead on Google+,” says Google VP, Product Bradley Horowtiz in a blog post. “While people obviously won’t be able to create new posts after that, they will be able to view their existing content on their Google Profile, and download it using Google Takeout.”
“Changing the world takes focus on the future, and honesty about the past,” he says. “We learned a lot from products like Buzz, and are putting that learning to work every day in our vision for products like Google+. Our users expect great things from us; today’s announcements let us focus even more on giving them something truly awesome.”
The other services Google is shutting down include: Code Search, Jaiku, iGoogle’s social features and the University Research Program for Google Search. These will all be shut down on January 15.
iGoogle itself, and non-social iGoogle apps will stay the same.
Google is also officially closing the Google Labs site today, as previously announced. Boutiques.com and Like.com will be replaced by Google Product Search, also as previously announced.
Will you miss any of the products Google is shutting down? Let us know in the comments.