Today, I was buzzed at work.  Okay, forgive the terrible pun.  The office mates and I were discussing whether or not we like Google’s latest venture into social media.  Carly, our SEO Manager, has the mobile version on her phone and likes that it shows people nearby.  However, we are all fairly unimpressed with the Gmail version.  It feels like a mass Instant Message and G chat status.  It’s nice that it automatically follows friends, but it’s also odd that you cannot be voluntarily anonymous like on Twitter.  Also, how are we encouraged to find and follow more people?  On the mobile version, we can find people near us.  On the Gmail version, we are talking to the people we already talked to.  With Twitter; however, I can search by area or trending topic and find people interested in the same things as I am.  We’re all unsure which category to fit Buzz into.  Isn’t it going to drive me crazy to see everyone’s constant flow of Picasa, Flickr and Google Reader activity?  I already turned on my filter so that my inbox won’t be flooded with replies from friends.  What is your opinion of this latest craze?  Will it fade in and out like Google Wave or be the proverbial “Twitter killer”?

Beginning today, Google AdWords has opened up its Product Extension beta to all US advertisers! A Product Extension, also known as a ‘plusbox’ ad, shows relevant images and prices for products on your site that relate to a user’s search, directly under your PPC ad. With the completion of the Product Extension Beta, merchants saw a 10% increase in CTR (Click-through Rate).

In order to use Product Extensions, you must have products listed in the Google Merchant Center.  Visiture can help you set up your Ad with Product Extensions in order to get you higher click-through rates and more sales (Click here for more information).

Here is an example of what the PPC Ad will look like:

Read the full story at Inside AdWords.

Google announced that they developed an easier way for people to disallow their stories being indexing in Google News.  This “robot” can be used to disallow your story from ending up in Google News or the natural search results.  Read the Google Blog for more information!