Buzz Kill

Google has launched Buzz, a social sharing system built on top of Gmail. Lifehacker provided a good rundown of the Buzz feature set, the Google Tutor wrote up a set of instructions for getting started and HubSpot's Mike Volpe came up with tips for marketers trying to catch the Buzz. The service essentially allows (some people say forces) you to add a status update stream to your Gmail page.

The talk of a 'Facebook killer' was balanced by the realization that Facebook was in a position to turn and strike the first blow. David Coursey made the case that Buzz would never succeed as a social hub without a Facebook API and that Facebook should certainly refuse to cooperate. The battle is already over, noted John Batelle, who added that Google's position in social media is akin to Facebook's in search. Gmail has approximately 176M users compared to Facebook's 400M.

Challenges aside, there is a lot to like about Buzz. Tim O'Reilly is positive on the concept of combining Twitteresque following with an advanced email system and felt that Google was bringing other strong features along. Buzz will also use algorithms to filter down the stereotypical Tweets about breakfast, a feature that made Digital Trends' short list of top Buzz features. Mobile is now clearly marked on Google's genome and so a full set of mobile functions was simultaneously announced and analyzed by Mashable.

The remaining negatives focused on serious privacy issues and some people felt that social and email could be love hate. Gigaom looked at the fine line between convenience and intrusion in a system that offers both.

• How to Respond to the Most Overused Objections in Using Social Media [Marketing Shindig]
• How to Market Your Business With Twitter Lists [Social Media Examiner]
• 7 Ways to Promote Your Offline Event Using Social Media [Mashable]
• Mini-Study: Media Perception and Usage of Social Media [Ogilvy]
• 6 Powerful Social Media Persuasion Techniques [Social Media Examiner]

• Our approach to maximizing advertising revenue for online publishers [Google Blog]
• Long Tail Keywords: Using Keyword Phrases That Make Sales [ClickNewz]
• Five Areas to Focus On for Effective SEO Copywriting [Copy Blogger]
• Testing How Crawl Priority Works [SEOMoz]
• Using Keyword Modifers to Qualify Visitors [Clicknewz]
• Google AdWords Quality Score Factors [PPC Blog]
• 5 Powerful Ways to Use Google Reader's Feed Creation Tool for SEO [Search Engine Journal]
• 3 Ways to Use the Google Wonder Wheel for Visiual SEO [Duct Tape Marketing]
• Using Placements To Boost ROI On Google's Content Network [Search Insider]
• Aligning Keywords and Landing Pages [SEO Design]

• Improve your web-forms and increase conversions [Google Conversion Room]
• A Quick Look at Mobile Web Designs [Siz Revisions]
• Mobile Web Design: Tips and Best Practices [Noupe]
• Creative Web Form Designs: Ideas And Realizations [WebExpedition18]
• Developing Sites With AJAX: Design Challenges and Common Issues [Smashing Magazine]
• Free and Exclusive Icons: Brown Social Icon Pack [Six Revisions]
• 13 of the Best Free High-Quality Icon Sets for 2010 [Grandsmart]

• How to Get Subscribers to Whitelist You [Aweber]
• 10 Words That Will Make People Open Your Email [Freelance Copywriters]
• How to choose an email subject line for maximum deliverability [Blue Sky]
• Email Design Tip of the Week: Web vs. Email Development [Exact Target]
• 3 Ways to Segment Your Lists for Better Results [VR Marketing]

• Google Analytics Tracking Code Basics and Time Saving Plugins [SEOMoz]

• Think big with a gig: Our experimental fiber network [Google Blog]
• Facebook Releases New Statistics: Sharing Quintuples In 6 Months [All Facebook]
• Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate [Marketing Charts]
• Out of Facebook's 400 Million Users, 100 Million Use its Mobile Services [Inside Facebook]