I got into Google Buzz this afternoon after only having mobile access since last evening and now that I see it in my Gmail client I am instantly seeing potential. I’m not willing or able to qualify that potential as it is awfully new, but I will say that having a social component connected to the application I spend the most time in (Gmail) will have some real value. I’ve already had the most substantive conversation in a social application with a colleague who doesn’t routinely participate in other social web spaces … I think the tight integration with Gmail will make a difference even though my first reaction was to bristle at the idea of a social network invading my email. I am hoping some of my conversations get moved to Buzz and stay out of email.

I’ve seen several people complain that it is “just another place to update status” and I have to disagree with that. This feels more like a productive and connected network that can empower work. Again, I can’t qualify that until I’ve been here long enough. For now I’ll just keep trying to stay focused and get some work done.