Google Buzz: A Visual Tour

We apologize in advance for the quality of these images. They came from the presentation Google broadcast to the media over the Web. We hope to soon bring you a more in-depth look at Google Buzz once we start using it. In this image from Google's press event, Vice President of Product Management Bradley Horowitz demonstrates how Google Buzz works.

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This is the first thing you see when visiting the Web Site for Google Buzz. You'll have the option to opt in, but don't be alarmed if you don't see anything different; Google says it'll be a few days before Buzz rolls out to the world.

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Photos included in other people's Buzz updates look like thumbnails at first, but you can click one to view them all as a gallery. Images appear against a darkened background with a thin navigation strip on the bottom.

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In addition to showing Buzz updates from your followed friends, Google Buzz will occasionally pull in updates from outside your immediate group, such as an active conversation involving some friends and some people you aren't following.

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When you get a recommendation, Google Buzz tells you why. If you're not interested, say so, and Google Buzz will learn your preferences over time.

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Much like the YouTube Previews feature in Gmail Labs, videos in Google Buzz are shown as thumbnails, which can be expanded and played inline.

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Google Brings Buzz Social Networking to Gmail, Mobile

Google noticed how some people keep one social network private and another public, and aimed to combine both worlds. Each update can be set to either a small group of friends or the entire world.

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Gmail Goes Social With Google Buzz

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Updates set as public are automatically posted in your Google Profile for the world to see. They're also indexed in Google Search.

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Taking a page from Twitter, Google Buzz lets you get someone's attention with the “@” symbol. Enter it, then start typing a person's name to bring up an auto-complete list, just like the one in Gmail. Buzz updates with the symbol “@” automatically appear in that person's e-mail inbox.

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See that little speech bubble on the top right of Google's home page? Tap it, and you can immediately post a buzz using a keyboard or voice recognition.

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Using GPS, Google Buzz detects your location and asks you to confirm it. Once you've done this, Buzz updates are geotagged for your friends and others around you to see.

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GPS can't always tell exactly where you are, especially when you're in a place that's loaded with points of interest. In those cases, you'll get a list of locations to choose from.

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Buzz is Google's way of adding more information to Place Pages, a business directory with directions, hours, user reviews and other details. It's like Yelp without the ratings system.

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Users of Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile phones can find Buzz updates in Google's Mobile Maps application. Clicking on those little speech bubbles brings up thoughts from anyone who's made their buzzes public.

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Google Mobile Maps Users can already tweak the settings of their maps to show different things. Buzz will become a new layer, allowing you to show or hide those little speech bubbles.

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Adding a photo to a Buzz update from your phone is as simple as selecting from these three options. That's it.

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