Google launches Google Buzz

Google today launched Google Buzz, a service that allows you share updates, photos, videos, and start conversations about the things you find interesting. Google Buzz integrates a social media stream into Google’s Gmail platform and appears very much like FriendFeed, but also ties in to a number of Google services such as Youtube and Picasa, as well as being able to integrate with both Flickr and Twitter services. This semi-open approach is a threat to the closed nature of Facebook, who purchased FriendFeed last year and have made several changes to their user interface moving to a more FriendFeed-like user experience.
Twitter is also under threat by this announcement, with Google Buzz providing an out of the box social web experience similar to Twitter for existing users of Gmail it makes it hard to justify signing up to yet another service when users already have a Gmail account. Though it is possible given Google Buzz’s ability to tie in with Twitter, that Buzz can cross pollinate with Twitter ensuring that both services continue to grow.
Google Buzz is part of Gmail and key features include:
• Automatic friends lists (friends are added automatically who you have emailed on Gmail)
• "Rich fast sharing" combines image sources and real-time feeds like Picasa and Twitter into a single feed, with full-sized photo browsing
• Public and private sharing (switch easily between family and friends)
• Inbox integration (instead of emailing you with every update, like Facebook, Buzz features emails that update dynamically with Buzz thread content, ensuring you don't get emails you don't need or want)
• "Recommended Buzz" puts friend-of-friend content into your stream, learning which recommendations you want the more you use it and the more feedback you give it.