Buzz Browser Extensions

The first is the Chrome Buzz extension which adds the Buzz conversation bubble icon to your Chrome browser. When clicked, you can read through all the latest Buzz in the window that displays. Unfortunately though, this is currently a read-only experience. If you want to comment, like, or post new Buzz yourself, you have to head back to your Gmail. However, it's a good first effort from the developer and worth watching for future updates.

A second Buzz extension for Chrome is called Buzzer. This lets you publish to Buzz from Google Reader. This one actually seems a little redundant since you can add your Google Reader Shared Items to your Google Profile and have them automatically published on Buzz. However, this would be useful if you came across a website that you weren't subscribed to and still wanted to add it to Buzz. Clicking the button will open up the site's feed in Reader and allow you to add a note (if desired) before posting the item to Buzz.


Meanwhile, Firefox users have an experimental add-on called "Buzz It!" which lets you update your status via Gmail with the link and title of the webpage you're currently viewing.

Hide Your Buzz Contact List from Prying Eyes

As Philipp Lenssen pointed out on Google Blogoscoped, Buzz may not be for everyone...especially those who don't want to expose their private Gmail contact list to the world at large. The problem with Buzz is once you set it up, those you follow and those following you are shown on your profile page. This isn't all that different from FriendFeed expect for one important fact: on FriendFeed you picked and chose who your friends were, but your Buzz contacts are added for you automatically based on who you email the most. If that's not information you want to share, here's how to turn it off:

1. Sign into your Google account via Gmail (or any other Google service)
2. Go to your Google profile here: http://google.com/profiles/me
3. Click the link at the top-right of the screen that reads "Edit Profile"
4. Here, you'll see a checkbox that reads "Display the list of people I'm following and people following me." To make this info private, just uncheck that box.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save changes" button

Update Buzz via Email

One of the nice things about Buzz's Gmail integration is that it lets you update your Buzz via email. This one's simple: just send an email to buzz@gmail.com using your gmail.com email address. You can even send in attachments!

Google Buzz understands a little bit of the Textile Markup Language. Here are the markups he found that work:
(*)word(*) = bold
(_)word(_) = italics
(-)word(-) = strikethrough
(--) = em-dash
Note: Use those without the ()