Many would say Google Buzz was an experiment that lasted just a bit too long, and Google today announced it will finally pull the plug on one of its first forays into social networking. For all of its initial buzz (too easy), Buzz never caught on with the masses. Along the way it created a real headache for Google when privacy concerns relating to pose warranted a much harder look at how Google uses user data.

With the launch of Google+, Buzz became superfluous at best, and as part of an effort to refocus and streamline certain Google products, the social update service will be shut down for good come “in a few weeks.” Efforts will be shifted to developing and enhancing Google+ as the technology giant’s sole social platform.

Other services to get the axe in Google’s recent house cleaning include Code Search, Jaiku, iGoogle’s social elements, and the University Research Program for Google Search.

[via Google]