If you have a gmail account, you’ve been flashed the big “Get your buzz on” screen while trying to log on. And you may have checked out Google Buzz, the latest in social media, but is it really as great as it seems?

The fact that Google Buzz is relatively new means that there are going to be some kinks to work out, but that doesn’t stop it from being useful. Google is so well known that it’s pretty obvious that a lot of people will jump on the bandwagon merely because of the brand name and chances are it will be worth getting on there, since it will certainly attract a lot of Google fans and that means it will instantly be successful. After all, the entire point of having a social media network is having people to network with and that is something Google will be able to offer very quickly.

The list of features is interesting, though nothing terribly original:

  • Auto friends. The people you email get added to your network automatically. That may or may not be a good thing, depending on who you email!
  • Recommends. You’ll see content and status updates from friends of friends, whom you can then befriend. Google Buzz “learns” as it goes, so you’ll eventually only get recommends that you would be interested in.
  • Public and private settings. You’ll be able to share private stuff with only those you select, which is handy, considering that you’ll be connected with all the people you usually email most often.
  • Feed compilation. Google Buzz gives you the option of bringing in Twitter and Facebook feeds to share on your Buzz status. This is a useful feature since you can combine everything and reduce the amount of time spent on social media.

Google Buzz is also available on mobile phones, making it easy to connect no matter where you are. I’m sure they will also be tweaking the network as time goes on, not only to fix current glitches (like the same news being posted several times on the same timeline), but also to meet the needs and demands of a media savvy audience that is looking for more glitz and glamor.

So, will this be the hot new place to hang out and network? Possibly. The popularity of Google virtually ensures that there will be an instant, large audience to work with, which is all any social media marketer can ask for.

Will you be using Google Buzz?

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