Feel the (Google) Buzz

Google continues its quest to build a successful social network like Twitter and Facebook with its latest venture, Google Buzz. Riding on the heels of Google Wave, Buzz allows for real-time status updates and the sharing of videos, pictures, and links. Your Buzz community is automatically populated with your Gmail contacts (anyone you’ve had prior communication with), but you can choose how to share your content—privately (with a selected group of contacts), or publicly (with the entire universal Buzz community). If your Buzz contacts are online, you can chat directly with them through Google Chat.

If someone comments on a picture, link, video, or status update you post, the comment appears in your inbox in a real-time fashion (no screen refreshes required). Buzz also provides users with recommendations of conversations or other media that “contacts of contacts” are posting, essentially trying to connect users with the people, and topics, that fit their interests. These recommendations can be accepted or rejected by the user.

A mobile Buzz version for smartphones like Android and iPhone was recently released and native apps will be out soon. Buzz also has a location feature that allows users to connect with people in their area (shown through geo-tagged conversation bubbles on your phone’s Google Maps app). Buzz can be accessed through smartphones from Buzz.Google.com, Google Mobile Maps, and Google Mobile’s website.

For business owners, Buzz can be a tool for marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). Since Buzz operates through Google, the buzz clips you enter will automatically be page ranked. And like Twitter’s trending topics, Buzz gives users the power to post about current trends that people will be searching for at any given moment, allowing for business owners to Buzz about those trends, as well, and ideally lead traffic to their sites.

Gmail users will find a Buzz icon in their inboxes, and there’s no further setup required. For more details and an informational video on Google Buzz, visit gmailblog.blogspot.com.