It appears that Google has really missed a rare mark with their new attempt at social media, Google Buzz. Why all the uproar? Google has taken the liberty of synchronizing everyone’s Gmail account with Buzz, a twitter-like program that is supposed to let your contacts see changes in your status while letting you view theirs in a constant stream. Sure this sounds like a smart sync, but it is getting absolutely hammered on as a violation of privacy. As part of their plans for this integration, buzz takes the liberty of automatically ‘friending’ your top 40 Gmail contacts to your profile, regardless of your real world affiliation. This means that anyone can automatically be integrated into your email account, regardless if it’s someone who you may have e-mailed once or twice, an old acquaintance, or someone who you would like a discreet relationship with that isn’t broadcasted over Google space.

I have opted out of Buzz because I heard about this integration close upon its launch shortly after seeing who my ‘top contacts’ were. I don’t particularly want to connect my mother, aunts, and brother with ex-girlfriends and old frat buddies (This is why we’re not Facebook friends, mom). I’m sure my personal life isn’t the only one that would benefit from keeping certain social areas separate.

However, I can see the wisdom behind Google’s move…well maybe not the wisdom, but the reasoning behind it. In order to compete with long established social media sites like Facebook and Twitter where long time users already have friends in the hundreds, Google had to assume that people wouldn’t want to ‘start fresh’ with a third, fourth, or fifth social site, and starting out with a base set of followers would really expedite the connection process. These social media communities can take a long time to set up because finding people you know and want to connect to can be found much more quickly searching your 2nd degree connections rather then searching for people individually.

The launch of Google Buzz is equivalent to launching a new NFL, NBA, or MLB overnight, and expecting everyone to wake up with their jerseys on. Google has made incredible strides in providing fast, free, and accurate information to nearly everyone, unless of course you’re in China or looking for Donald Rumsfeld’s house on Google Earth (Go head, try it), but needs to take more consideration into the privacy of its customers. Providing information is one thing, shining spotlights on people’s personal lives is another.