Google Buzz annoying for Gmail-synced BlackBerry users

When Google announced their latest project, Buzz, the other day, I wasn’t too impressed. Yeah yeah, instead of buying Twitter they’re trying to compete with it. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? Yesterday, however, I changed my tune. My friends and I use Gmail extensively, employing it as our primary instant messenger and loading each other’s Readers with a fire hose of shares. As it turns out, Buzz integrates pretty well with that level of usage. It adds what amounts to a another label to your Gmail interface, and lets you know when someone you follow sends a new buzz, updates their status (like Facebook, which, by the way, isn’t working for BlackBerry), share or new article, or leave a comment. It’s a great time-waster, and it’s certainly going to pull my time from Facebook and Twitter. Yet there’s one glitch: if you sync Gmail to your BlackBerry, you’ll get bombarded with Buzz emails. That’s no fun.

Because Buzz adds an easy to use label on your Gmail home page, there’s no need to receive email updates. If you want the Buzz emails to skip your Gmail inbox, follow these instructions. Thankfully, that reduces the number of Buzz emails sent to your BlackBerry. For all I know, it could eventually prevent all Buzz emails from being sent my way, but I created the filter at about 1:00 yesterday afternoon and was still getting random Buzz emails on my BlackBerry at around 5. Again, it will probably work itself out. But until then…

To set up a stronger filter, log into your BIS account, and next to your email address click the filter icon. Name your filter, then from the drop-down box select “Subject” field. In the contains field type Buzz from, since that’s how each email subject begins. At the bottom, leave the radio button set to Do not forward messages to this device. Click Add Filter, and you’re set.