10 Things You Should Know About Google Buzz

Earlier this week, Google unveiled Buzz, a new social platform from the search giant that allows users to manage and engage in social activities from the company's e-mail program, Gmail. In many ways, Google Buzz is a catch-all product.

It allows users to share multimedia and update their status for friends to see. Users can even share their location information to help folks connect with others in their area. Google Buzz is a shot over the bow of both Twitter and Facebook. And it seems that Google is playing for keeps.
But there are several important features built into Google Buzz that the search giant didn't necessarily highlight so well during its announcement of the new service. That's where we come in. We're going to take a look at 10 features built into Google Buzz that any user should know about. Some are great additions to the social platform, while others leave much to be desired.

So let's take a look at some things every user should know about Google Buzz.

1. It has a little bit of everything

Google Buzz attempts to be the social network to best them all. The service allows users to share photos and videos, update their status, share their locations, send messages to a select group of followers, and much more. It also integrates tweets, so users can see what others are talking about on Twitter without going there. Google Buzz is designed to be a one-stop shop for all things social.

2. No limits

Twitter users who have a difficult time with brevity will be happy to know that Google Buzz doesn't limit the number of characters they can use in a status update. That allows users to copy-and-paste important text from something they find interesting or to simply provide more detail than they're allowed in Twitter.

3. The timeline isn't chronological

As users follow others and send out status updates themselves, they will notice that their timeline isn't necessarily chronological. For example, if a follower comments on a status update sent a few hours ago—before more recent status updates—it will rise to the top, so it can be more easily found. That might be a problem for some, especially Twitter users, who only expect to see chronological updates on display.

Unfortunately, Google Buzz suffers from some design issues that might frustrate users. The page can get cluttered if a user is following too many people. And thanks to multimedia sharing, some might be overwhelmed by just how much content is on the site. These design issues are certainly not a deal-breaker, but they might confuse some novice users.