Have you ever wanted to sync your Google Buzz "status updates" from Google's new social networking service over to the popular microblogging network Twitter? At launch time, that isn't possible using Buzz's interface. It doesn't allow you to sync your native Buzz posts to Twitter manually or automatically and you can't reply to others' Buzz updates via Twitter, either. However, there are a couple of new third-party tools that at least tackle the first part of the part of this problem - syncing Buzz updates to Twitter.
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1) Buzz2Twitter
The first tool we discovered (and one I use myself) is a web app from the creator of Reader2Twitter, the tool that automatically syncs Google Reader Shared Items to Twitter. His new Buzz sync service, Buzz2Twitter, uses the pubsubhubbub protocol so that the synchronization between the two services occurs in real-time. However, in our tests, there were some delays which the developer attributed to the particular pubsub hub he was using at the time.
The other features of Buzz2Twitter include:
- The ability to bind your bit.ly account to the service for link shortening
- The ability to format your synced tweets
For a longer review of Buzz2Twitter, check out Louis Gray's post.
2) Buzz Can Tweet
The second service we came across that allows for Buzz to Twitter synchronization is Buzz Can Tweet. This service takes a slightly different approach than Buzz2Twitter. Instead of syncing the exact text from your Buzz update over to Twitter, Buzz Can Tweet syncs your Buzz post with a link that directs your Twitter followers back to your Buzz update itself. This is especially handy for Buzz posts that are longer than the allowed 140 characters available in Twitter. If you're looking to encourage more discussion over on your Google Buzz profile, this may be the tool you want to chose.
In addition to bit.ly integration, Buzz Can Tweet offers a few more customization options, too, including:
- Selective tweeting - that is, only tweet buzz with keyword twitter (customizable)
- Exclude text after keyword (customizable)
- No link back to Buzz when under 140 characters (customizable)
- Access settings via the control panel.
Those are the only two services we've found so far that integrate this often-requested functionality with Buzz. In the future, the Google Buzz team plans to offer Twitter synchronization as an option, but for now, they have to focus on bug-fixing and design issues. When all the glaring issues have been addressed, they can then worry about adding new features. (In other words, it may be a while!)
If you've tried either of the services above, let us know about your experiences in the comments.
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