With Google Wave struggling to pick up momentum, the base components of the service have been trimmed down into Google Buzz. Incorporated into the Gmail email system, Google Buzz is designed to easily give Gmail users a way to share their status updates, photos, links, videos and more with their friends, family, and connections around the web.
Since it's release four days ago, several changes have already been made including allowing users to "ok" who follows their buzz log and not set their entire contact list to auto-follow. Privacy advocates had voiced serious concerns when the service was initially launched, as many people realized their Buzz component had already been automatically filled with followers.
If you already have a Gmail account, Buzz should have appeared as a link below your Inbox link already, but if it has not or if you want to sign up for a Gmail account that automatically includes Buzz, you can sign up here: www.gmail.com
We shall see if Buzz picks up speed and popularity. Users may embrace it due to its direct connection to their Gmail accounts, but in the world of Facebook and MySpace it will be a big feat to convince many of their users to switch some of their loyalty away from the systems they already know so well.