We had an awesome discussion about Google Buzz in class… The one thing that caught a lot of attention in the room was the discussion on what happened to a blogger on a site called Fugitivus. A blog on The Telegraph explains it pretty well in this article. I would link to the blog, but she has taken it private after many bloggers, Twitter users, Facebookers and Buzz conversations focused on her complaints. It seems Google heard it and made changes. Elle Moxley also pointed us all to this link and this link.

I asked folks out in Buzz and Twitter what they thought about Buzz and here are some of the thoughts and tips:

Steve Cusumano – “The mobile map tool seems really useful. Reporters scattered throughout the city “buzz in” news in realtime (either to their own branded buzz account or one official “news station” account”) from their mobile devices, and it puts a pin in a map for viewers showing where that news is coming from. This could work for traffic, too, especially in the fall for Mizzou football games. Since there’s also a way to quickly scan local buzzes, that could lead to story ideas and sources.
There’s ways in Twitter and Facebook to share and seach for hyperlocal content, but as of yet they don’t have it built into their system, I believe…generally have to go through someone else’s app for it post your location along with your tweet/facebook status/photo, or use an app to comb locally generated content. For all the things Buzz doesn’t do right (and I’m still leary of it for these reasons), the mobile map function is outstanding.”

David Cohn (He’s the guy who launched Spot.Us – the site we talked about in class) - ”I would tell them (if it’s not too late) that they need to learn how to play in this space because it’s not going to reverse.
If they were hesitant about Twitter – that’s fine.
But between this AND twitter- they have to recognize that there is a new type of social interaction and communication taking place.
They gotta learn the vocabulary.”

Craig Kanalley (who recently started working for the Huffington Post) responded to Dave’s post with: “That’s a huge point: between this AND twitter- they have to recognize that there is a new type of social interaction and communication taking place.”

Twitter user and Columbia, MO Realtor Scott Wendling (CommercialScott on Twitter) gave his thoughts in two 140 character posts: “I’m no journo but see lots of potential. I anticipate Google has plan to weave all apps together moving towards their OS #Buzz isnt comp. Twitter/Facebook. It’s more of an add on to email. Sometimes you just need to go private 2 public quickly.”

You can read all kinds of articles on Buzz… But I would take Dave’s advice and check it out. Learn how it works. As I said in class, it’s good to understand how all of these social spaces work. Get into Buzz enough to be able to tell a potential employer how Buzz works and how it differs from other social media tools that are mainstream. (Like Facebook and Twitter)

I’d also strongly recommend checking out the #jenclass hashtag. There were awesome backchannel discussion (other than a spinoff discussion about a plaid shirt) about Michele McClellan’s work at the Reynolds Journalism Institute.