If you have a Gmail account you should have noticed a new feature called Buzz. What exactly is google buzz? In short it's a new way to manage social interactions in real time, the only difference is that you will receive updates via your e-mail account, a feature not seen on any e-mail platform. What Google says about Google buzz is that its another form to share updates, photos , videos and more with friends. We can see this as Google's way to enter into social media to compete with social networking sites such as facebook and myspace.
The reality is that Buzz is nothing radically new, and nothing radically useful. The only downside to buzz is that it takes up more time out of the day reading through notifications and viewing those who you decide to follow and those who decide to follow you (something we already see with twitter). What Google should do is find a less intrusive way to adapt social updates. At the end of the day an e-mail inbox should still feel like an e-mail account, however as more Gmail users use Buzz, the chances are more than likely that everyone will be forced to use it whether we like it or not as we are now in the era where social media remains supreme.