`wyldKard's

With over 9 million posts and comments in two days, Google Buzz has stormed the web like a swarm of locusts. An array of strong features, integration with Gmail, and lots of press have turned Buzz into an overnight phenomenon.

If you’re like a lot of us, you’ve suddenly found yourself using your Gmail () even more than you already were. Spending so much time in Gmail and Buzz though inevitably takes away from your Facebook () and Twitter (), and who wants to sacrifice their tweeting and facebooking?

Luckily if you’re a Gmail user, you don’t have to sacrifice either, even while you’re browsing your email or your buzz.

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Gadget Integration Is Your Friend

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Yesterday we caught a Buzz post by Ari Milner where he described how he turned his Gmail into his personal “social command center.” How did he do it? In his words:

“The key was using Gmail Labs feature at the bottom of the list called ‘Add () any gadget by URL’. This allowed me to add these 3 features to my Gmail sidebar.”

By utilizing third-party gadgets, he transformed his Gmail into a place where he could access his Twitter, Buzz, and Facebook straight from his Gmail. Here’s how:

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Step By Step: Integrating Your Social Media into Buzz

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1. Activate “Add any gadget by URL” in Gmail Labs — you’ll find it near the bottom of the list.

2. Now go to Settings –> Gadgets. Here you’ll find a place to add Gadget URLs.

3. Add the TwitterGadget App. Any iGoogle gadget will do actually, but the best one in our opinion is TwitterGadget, a fully-functional Twitter service for iGoogle and Gmail. This lets tweet from the sidebar or open up your Twitter with all of your tabs intact. It even supports multiple accounts.

To add it, copy and paste this URL into Gmail’s Gadget settings: “https://twittergadget.appspot.com/gadget-gmail.xml”

4. Add the Facebook Gadget. In the same way you added TwitterGadget, you can add Facebook to your Gmail. While Google has an official Facebook gadget, it doesn’t play nicely with Gmail, so we suggest using the app Ari Milner users: Facebook Gadget by iBruno. It will expand into the rest of your Gmail for easy Facebook management.

To add it, copy and paste this URL into Gmail’s Gadget settings: “http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/104971404861070329537/facebook.xml”

5. That’s it! Google Buzz (), Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail are now all wrapped up into one. Pretty nifty, no? Let us know about your experience in the comments.

Source: mashable.com

Google has just unveiled its latest attempt to become more relevant in the social media space:Google Buzz. The product is integrated withinGmail and will be rolled out gradually to all of the webmail service’s users over the next few days.

We’re still digesting all of the implications of Buzz (and will have more coverage throughout the day), but in the meantime, here’s the two-minute demo of the product in action both on the Web and via mobile that Google showed off during today’s press conference:

This video from Google looks specifically at the mobile features of Buzz:

What are your initial reactions? Another soon-to-be-forgotten Google social product? A FriendFeed clone? AFacebook/Twitter killer?

Source: mashable.com

It’s official: Google has just announced Google Buzz, its newest push into the social media foray. This confirms earlier reports of Gmail integrating a social status feature.

On stage revealing the new product was Bradley Horowitz, Google’s Vice President for product Management. While introducing the product, Mr. Horowitz focused on the human penchant to share their experiences and the social media phenomenon of wanting to share it in real-time. These two key themes were core philosophies behind Google Buzz.

“It’s becoming harder and harder to find signal in the noise,” Bradley stated before introducing the product manager for Google Buzz, Todd Jackson.

Here are the details:

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Google Buzz: The Details

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- Mr. Jackson introduced “a new way to communicate within Gmail.” It’s “an entire new world within Gmail.” Then he introduced the five key features that define Google Buzz:

- Key feature #1: Auto-following

- Key feature #2: Rich, fast sharing experience

- Key feature #3: Public and private sharing

- Key feature #4: Inbox integration

- Key feature #5: Just the good stuff

- Google then began the demo. Once you log into Gmail, you’ll be greeted to a splash page introducing Google Buzz.

- It is a tab right under the inbox, labeled “Buzz”

- It provides links to website, content from around the web. Picasa, Twitter, Flickr, and other sites are aggregated.

- It shows thumbnails when linked to photos from sites like Picasa and Flickr. Clicking on an image though will blow up the images to almost the entire browser, making them easier to browse.

- It uses the same keyboard shortcuts as Gmail. This makes sense. Hitting “R” allows you to comment/reply to a buzz post, for example.

- There are public and private settings for different posts. You can post updates to specific contact groups. This is a lot like Facebook friend lists.

- They want to make sure you don’t miss comments, so it has a system to send you an email letting you know about updates. However, the email will actually show you the Buzz you’ve created and all of the comments and images associated with it.

- Comments update in real-time.

- @replies are supported, just like Twitter. If you @reply someone, it will send a buzz towards an individual’s inbox.

- Google Buzz has a “recommended” feature that will show buzzes from people you don’t follow if your friends are sharing or commenting on that person’s buzz. You can remove it or change this in settings.

- Google is now speaking about using algorithms to help filter conversations, as well as mobile devices related to Buzz.

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The Mobile Aspect

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- Google buzz will be accessible via mobile in three ways: from Google Mobile’s website, from Buzz.Google.com (iPhone and Android), and from Google Mobile Maps.

- Buzz knows wher you are. It will figure out what building you are and ask you if it’s right.

- Buzz has voice recognition and posts it right onto your buzz in real-time. It also geotags your buzz posts.

- Place pages integrate Buzz.

- In the mobile interface, you can click “nearby” and see what people are saying nearby. NIFTY, if I say so myself.

- You can layer Google Maps with Buzz. You can also associate pictures with buzz within Google Maps.

- Conversation bubbles will appear on your Google Maps. They are geotagged buzz posts, which lets you see what people are saying nearby.

- They just showed off a video for Buzz. We’ll have it up soon.

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The Third Act

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- Google’s philosophy on social is this: they want buzz to be the paragon and poster child for creating a social destination in an open environment that adheres to open standards.

Source: mashable.com