With Google’s recent unveiling of its new social network Google Buzz, the initial reaction has been one of confusion, uncertainty and “Do I really need another social network?” Google’s entry into social networking is an attempt to integrate Gmail, Mobile and more into the conversation. It allows text, videos, photos and location info supplied by Google Maps.

The real question that arises isn’t whether or not this will work: right out of the gate the new network got 176 million new users by integrating with Gmail. The real question is, is it going to replace/kill/diminish other recent Google darlings, most specifically Google Wave, Latitude and Voice? Not to mention Twitter. How will they all play nice together? Even Google seems to be discovering this on the fly, saying during their unveiling that it was still developing, and usage would inform the direction they will take.

Microsoft and Yahoo slammed the launch within one hour, both claiming the high ground by saying they’ve been running similar services for some time, MSN through Hotmail and Yahoo through, ahem,… Yahoo Buzz. While they have a point, what they don’t have is any great success with their attempts at social networking. Yahoo Buzz has had the most success, but pales in comparison with what looks to be possible with Google Buzz.

So what can Google Buzz do? Let’s look at some of its features.

Because Google Buzz is integrated with Gmail, your contacts are automatically imported, starting with the ones with whom you have the most contact.

Google Buzz lets you share pictures, videos, links and more from sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Picasa, Google Reader and Twitter. With their online video playback and custom photo viewing features, the emphasis is definitely on sharing your world.

Google Buzz users can post comments on other posts, receive comments into your inbox, and order commenters in your order of preference.

You can update groups of followers, something new on the social networking landscape, even creating custom groups such as co-workers or family and friends.

Buzz is very mobile! It is integrated into the mobile version of Google’s home page, and will be found in the Google Mobile Maps application for Nokia, Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android phones. There will also be an iPhone app.

There are plans on the drawing board for a corporate version of Google Buzz, though it will not be available immediately.

While it is apparent that Google Buzz has a great deal going for it, chief among this is Google itself; it still faces a challenge in winning over users who are firmly entrenched in their social networking service of choice. Getting them to add or switch over will be the battle here.

Given the huge potential for Google’s self-described mission of a real-time Web via Universal search, and the possibilities of even more reach for their search based advertising (Gmail has ads, in case you hadn’t noticed!) it only makes sense for Google to try once again. With their previous attempts at social networking with Orkut and Jaiku now a distant memory, we’ll see who and how many embrace Google Buzz.