Private messages in Google Buzz

Messages (and many other things) in Google Buzz are public by default.
The steps required to create and send a private message are as follows.

First, you need to create an empty group. This is a little harder than it needs to be, but these steps work today:

1. Create a new message in Buzz.
2. Before you post it, select the Private option from the drop down list next to "Post".
3. Click on "post to other groups".
4. At the bottom of the list of groups, click on "Create a new group".
5. Name the new group something like "Empty group" and select one member - doesn't matter who.
6. Click "Done" to save the group,
7. Click "Edit" next to the group name,
8. Remove the member from the group and save it.

You now have an empty group, which you will need to create a private message.

You are also in the middle of editing a message. Give it some content and Post it. If the content starts with an @-sign and the email address of someone on Google, that person will be able to see the message. If it doesn't, no one else will see the message.

The next time you create a post in Buzz, note that the post will be Private by default. You may want to change this to Public. Buzz remembers your last choice and makes it the default for your next post. It also remembers that you picked the Empty group for your last private post and makes that the default.