Google Buzz is the latest hot topic in social media. Whether it will ultimately be a hit or a flop, many blogs are already incorporating the button into each post, just like Tweetmeme’s retweet button and Facebook’s sharecount button.
There are several plugins and methods you can use to add the Google Buzz button to your WordPress blog, at least until Google comes out with an official button. Here are the best methods I’ve found for adding Google Buzz as a share count button, a sidebar widget, and a social share chicklet:
Google Buzz Share Count Button: WP-Buzzer
Although there are several varieties of WordPress plugins, WP-Buzzer by Hameedula is the must customizable button in terms of placement of the button in your post. This is important to bloggers who want to line up the Google Buzz button with other share count buttons (such as Tweetmeme and Facebook sharecount). As you can see below, I’ve chosen the default “float: right” position, so the button will line up with my other Twitter and Facebook buttons.
How to line up Google Buzz button with Tweetmeme’s Retweet button:
If you already have the Tweetmeme button installed, this Google Buzz button doesn’t line up correctly at all. Additionally, the button is kind of clunky; you can see the pixilated edges. We’re going to fix that.
- Upload the wp-buzzer plugin to your blog. Do not yet activate it.
- Save this png file to your computer as googlebuzz.png:
- Upload this image to the folder /wp-content/plugins/wpbuzzer
- Go to your installed plugins page and click “edit” under the wp-buzzer plugin.
- Search for the following text: background-image: $style = ‘style=”height: 58px; width:50px; background-image: url(‘ . WP_PLUGIN_URL . ‘/wpbuzzer/wpbuzzer-google-buzz-big.png)
- Change “wpbuzzer-google-buzz-big.png” to “googlebuzz.png”
- Add “padding-top:12px;” after “width:50px;”
- Click save. That should be it!
Google Buzz Sidebar Widget: Google Buzz ER
The Google Buzz ER widget will display your public Google Buzz content on your blog. Simply upload the plugin to your blog, and in the plugin settings enter your Google username, create a title, and define how many Buzz posts you want to appear in the widget. Then go to your widgets page, where you can drag and drop the widget wherever you want it to appear.
Google Buzz as a Social Chicklet: Light Social
I’m sure all the major social bookmarking plugins will soon include Google Buzz as an available social chicklet (I use SexyBookmarks here, and they have not yet). The Light Social plugin is one of the early adopters to add the Google buzz button. Plugins like this automatically insert a set of social chicklets, or share links, at the bottom of each of your blog posts.
Have you integrated Google Buzz into your blog yet? Which Google Buzz plugins are you using?
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