One of my favorite things about working in the news business is you never know where the day is going to take you. You wake up, and Evan Bayh is the farthest thing from your mind. Next thing you know, he makes a "last minute" decision and suddenly you find yourself drilling deep into all things Bayh (to say nothing of all things Brad Ellsworth).
Similarly, one of my favorite things about working in new media is how quickly new technology or killer applications of existing technology can completely change the game.
And it's starting to feel like that's what just happened with the release of Google Buzz. A week ago, it wasn't on anyone's radar (other than Google's, of course). Today, it's part of the conversation -- and lots of people are using it. How many? With a host of caveats, Danny Sullivan has crunched some numbers and says that Google Buzz is already generating a quarter of the activity of Twitter.
Mashable's Ben Parr called Buzz "a nuclear bomb whose fallout will permanently alter the social media landscape." Others are focusing on the hiccups and wondering, "what were they thinking?"
To its credit, Google has been quick to admit its mistakes, apologize for them, and tweak Buzz in response to user feedback. The team at Mountain View has never been afraid to iterate, reiterate, and then reiterate again.
So we are diving in. You can already follow HuffPost's official Google Buzz profile here. And you can follow my personal Google Buzz profile here. Buzz profiles for all of our sections will roll out over the next few days -- I hope you'll follow them, and join in the conversations.
You'll notice we've also added a Buzz This button to many of our stories and blog posts so you can share your favorites with your Buzz network.
I've just started playing with Google Buzz myself. And, so far, I like how accessible it is, how visual, and how flexible.
I'd love to know what you think. Have you tried Google Buzz yet? What do you like about it? What don't you like? Are there things about it that worry you? Or are you confident Google has addressed the privacy issues many people raised last week?
And, if you are Google Buzzing, who are you following that you think "gets" Google Buzz (and is not just Buzzing their Tweets and Facebook postings)? Who do you recommend that I follow?
Let me know in the comments section. And, remember, you can follow HuffPost on Google Buzz here, and follow me here.