Greetings. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I'm using Google Buzz more and Twitter less. An ongoing thread in Buzz, on the topic of the controversial Muslim community center and mosque to be built two blocks from the site of the World Trade Center attacks, demonstrates the vast superiority of Google Buzz for actually carrying on meaningful discussions that go far beyond 140 character Twitter "headline" messages.

I initiated the discussion last Saturday by posting on Buzz three somewhat provocative questions regarding the controversy surrounding the NYC project.

Various Buzz users who regularly "follow" my postings -- and other users drawn to the specific posting through the social sharing mechanisms of Buzz -- began commenting, and a rather long and lively debate has resulted (which is continuing). Some of the comments are logically oriented. Some are highly emotional. You may disagree with a significant amount of material that you see on the thread (perhaps including various of my own statements).

But the point is that trying to carry out a discussion like this on Twitter would be essentially impossible in a practical sense. The 140 character Twitter message limit would reduce individual comments to the status of quick shouts -- hardly a way to foster useful discussion on important topics. And without the threading that Buzz provides, following the sequence of comments in a reasonable way would be a mess both for the participants and onlookers alike.

I don't expect our Buzz discussion to create full agreement among the widely varied points of view associated with such a highly charged issue, but three cheers to Google Buzz for providing the platform that has made this discourse so seamlessly possible in the first place. I am very impressed with Buzz's ability to host a multiuser dialogue in a highly professional manner.

You are of course warmly invited to join the discussion. It's rather intense, but I believe worthwhile. You can also directly access my Buzz account if you wish.

Take care, all.

--Lauren--