Google Buzz: social media game-changer?

Google announced this week it is throwing its hat into the social media ring. Google says the new Google Buzz tab will begin showing up on about 1 percent of Gmail user accounts starting right away. Google says the rest of Gmail users will be able to see a new Google Buzz tab in their accounts within a week.

Two things immediately caught my eye:

1. Google Buzz is integrated only into Gmail. Granted there are more than 150 million Gmail users, but there are still quite a few people who are not.

2. Google Buzz does not integrate into Facebook. I think this is going to be a HUGE factor in whether Google Buzz is successful or not. It should be interesting to see how this plays out and if Facebook will one day integrate into Google Buzz. As Facebook sneaks past 400 million users, this is certainly not a number Google can ignore.

Here's a quick 'cheat sheet' of what Google Buzz is:

1. Integrates with Gmail. Below your Gmail inbox, there will be a tab for Buzz, allowing you to read status updates, photos and video. The 40 people you converse with the most in Gmail and Gchat are automatically added as friends. Buzz updates also appear in your inbox if someone comments on your updates or your comments, or someone directs a Buzz to your attention by using the familiar "@" symbol

2. Integrates with other channels. Photos from Flickr and Picasa and video from YouTube appear as thumbnails in Google Buzz. You can pull in tweets from Twitter, but you can't send your Buzz updates out to Twitter or other social networks. ...CONTINUED

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