For those of you who have been living in a Google-proof shelter this week, Google introduced its latest toy, Buzz, this week. Superficially, Buzz operates a lot like Twitter, or like Facebook’s status page, in that you’re encouraged to share your fleeting thoughts with your crowd.

However, in my opinion, it so far has several significant advantages over either Twitter or Facebook. Enough so that it’s already looking like it might overtake both for me, personally, as my preferred source and sink of “short-form” communication. I also think that it scores big over Google’s other collaborative experiment, Wave.

Read on for my pros and cons… To be explicit, in each section, “Advantage” and “Disadvantage” below all are from Buzz’s point of view.

Versus Twitter

• Advantage: Not limited to 140 characters. This limitation is fine if you buy entirely into Twitters primary premise, which is that Twitter is not really about expansively expressing yourself, but about quickly sharing what’s on your mind right this minute.
• Advantage: Threaded replies. Twitter sort-of allows for conversations, but it’s not really designed to present those conversations grouped as such. Again, it’s really intended as a broadcast medium for public telegrams, not for conversation.
• Advantage: Integrated with GMail. I live in GMail for every purpose except work e-mail, where I am sadly shackled to Outlook 2007. Not having to open additional browser windows to enjoy a bit of Buzz time is a win.
• Advantage: Integrated with GReader, in that things flagged as “shared” in GReader are also shared via GBuzz. Some people might consider that a disadvantage because they want them separate, but I like it.
• Advantage: Shared items not compressed to unreadable URLs.
• Disadvantage: No pseudonymity. Well, OK, I suppose you could cheat and just not use your real name in your Google Profile at all, for any purpose, but you shouldn’t have to. Google Profile already includes a Nickname field. There should be an option to use it.
• Disadvantage: Other privacy controls still primitive (not that Twitter is fantastic for this).

Versus Facebook

• Advantage: No “apps”. Just talk. Facebook’s games and apps and memes and quizzes make me break out in hives. It was worse when it was harder to hide and block and filter all that crap, but it’s still itch-making.
• Advantage: Limited advertising. Google Ads have always been preferable to me than almost any other form of web advertising for the simple reason that they’re just text, and easily ignored if I really don’t care. I realize that people who actually work in advertising hate Google Ads for that exact reason, but I don’t really care¹.
• Advantage: Integrated with GMail, GReader. See above. As a further advantage, this means it partakes of GMail’s user interface, which I know some people aren’t fond of but I really like a lot.
• Advantage: No length limit. Facebook statuses can be more than 140 characters but are still somewhat limited.
• Disadvantage: Not as many people using it, so far. On the other hand, since there don’t appear to be any reading filters implemented, yet, that may not be a bad thing.
• Disadvantage: Primitive privacy controls. Facebook gets a lot of well-deserved crap for its sometimes sketchy privacy practices, but it’s done some work recently to try to give at least a little bit of fine-grained control to those who want it. Buzz right now pretty much eschews privacy as out-dated, which is, for good or ill, very much a Google mindset. At some point, I suspect this will improve, because no matter how much Google wants to convince people otherwise, some of us like to at least have the option of privacy.

Versus Google Wave

• Advantage: Integrated with GMail, GReader. Wave is entirely separate, and you don’t even have the option (that I’ve found) of integrating it with your Inbox. Mistake. Huge mistake. I almost never look at Wave. I’m continually looking at GMail. I still wish my GVoice inbox weren’t separate, but at least I can get e-mail notifications there. GWave is totally walled off.
• Advantage: Wide open. Wave is still invite-only, I believe, but Buzz was just sort of unleashed without fanfare or even warning.
• Advantage: Some integration with other social media. Example: I can optionally link my Twitter to my Buzz such that if I update Twitter, it becomes a Buzz as well.
• Disadvantage: Comparatively limited multimedia capabilities. Wave has a plug-in infrastructure that could theoretically waves to include almost any kind of data or presentation. Buzz right now is limited to text, links, pictures (mainly from Flickr or Picasa) and video (mainly form YouTube).

Conclusion

Based on my first impression, I think Buzz is going to be a winner. Sure, some people will continue to prefer Twitter or Facebook, for various reasons, and I doubt Buzz will completely replace either one for me, either, at least, not right away. But just now, I like Buzz a lot.