Gizmodo has a great description for the new Google Buzz released last month:

“Used on a PC or mobile, Buzz reminds us of an RSS combined
with all of your social networking—all within the existing Gmail and Google.com infrastructure.”

And as Google’s latest launch is fully compatible with Google Chat and Reader, Twitter, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, and Gmail of course, Google’s approach to sharing is spreading like wild fire!

One of the reasons Buzz has gained such popularity so quickly is its Gmail integration; giving the new Buzz access to Gmail’s already established user base of over a million global users.

As well, those on the social scene love Google Buzz’s ease of use and convenience. And did I mention that it moves in real-time? Engaging, accessible . . . what else could one ask for?

A little privacy perhaps?

Google Buzz’s initial launch saw an automatic share of updates and friends lists within everyone’s contact list and essentially the many, many, other Gmail users. Although this had a “viral marketing on steroids” impact for the new release, many of the automatic Buzz users were less than pleased. (Do you really want everyone on your contact list knowing your email habits?)

Luckily, Google immediately acted on the complaints so that users could more-easily keep their friends list private.

Buzz’s solution was to incorporate an option that enables users to share publicly or only with specific contacts. Fine and dandy except that every time you post, you have to take that extra step: to share or not to share.

What do Facebook and Twitter have to say about Buzz’s real-time feeds? That’s easy to guess since Buzz has already exceeded Twitter’s user numbers.

With Google Buzz being just a few weeks old and already so popular, it’s safe to say that this is really only the beginning. Excellence is only a few tweaks away and then the launch of new features . . .

A monster of a beehive, Google Buzz has created a whole new playing field in the ever-growing world of social media.