Like many of its features, Google is rolling Google Buzz out to Gmail users gradually. When a user gets Buzz, an information page will show up immediately upon logging into Gmail or browsing to the Gmail page, and the "Buzz" tab will show up on the Gmail screen just below the Inbox link.
This new piece of Google technology lets users post and read status updates, photos, videos, and Tweets right from the Gmail homescreen, and is likely to compete with Facebook.
How to Set Up Google Buzz to Post Text, Photos, and Videos
The first time a user clicks the "Buzz" tab, a buzz from the Google Team will show up with links to change followers, follow back those who are following the user, and edit the profile and connected sites. The user can dismiss this message by clicking "Okay." A profile and connected sites edit box will also pop up when the user tries to buzz for the first time.
The follow list is fairly self-explanatory—it sets up a feed, like in Facebook or Twitter, of people whose Buzz the user will see regularly. The connected sites box is where the user can decide what he or she automatically posts. A user can automatically buzz photos uploaded to Picasa or Flickr, shared Google Reader items, Blogger posts, Youtube videos, Google chat status, and Tweets.
How to Create and Read Google Buzz
To create Buzz, the user simply clicks on the text box at the top of the screen. The user can type text, like a blog post or a Facebook status update, or insert a link or a photograph. There's also a dropdown box that enables private posting. Users that already automatically update with Twitter and Blogspot may not feel a need to type much here, but it's a quick way to post a status and can be accessed speedily from gmail.
Below the post box is a feed of all the Buzz posted by those the user is following. It's easy to change who's being followed, find more people to follow, and refresh the feed with links at the top. The feed also automatically refreshes, and new Buzz flashes blue to alert the user. Similar to Google Reader, each Buzz has a set of links at the bottom to comment, "like," or share the Buzz via e-mail.
Comments are a particularly useful feature of Buzz. They also update automatically, though users can "mute" updates on the post (and the post itself) with an option under the arrow at the upper right hand corner. Comments to a user's Buzz, as well as reply comments, appear in the Gmail Inbox with a "Buzz" icon next to them, and display in the e-mail just like Buzz. A user can also type @username, just like Twitter, to ensure that a comment goes to a third user's Inbox.
Though it may be early to declare Facebook dead, it has certainly found competition in Google Buzz. Time will tell whether this social networking tool becomes as possible as Gmail, or Google itself.
Judith Faucette - Education Judith graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2006 with an honors Bachelor of Arts degree in History ...
