Update: Google has now released a statement that they will not be removing Buzz from Gmail, but rather are considering building a standalone version of Buzz that doesn't require Gmail.
Two days later, the negative press for Buzz has not let up. Users are unhappy about how tightly the social networking service is married to Gmail, and the resulting privacy concerns. Though yesterday Google attempted to assuage some of the concerns users are expressing, today Search Engine Land is reporting that Google's VP of Product Marketing, Bradley Horowitz, has said that Google is considering moving Buzz out of Gmail, and allowing users to claim new names that are not the part before the @ sign in their Gmail email address.
The Gmail integration isn't necessarily a bad thing for power users that know how to manage it, though I can see why they're considering the divorce; having Gmail and Buzz integrated together just makes the privacy concerns that much more obvious.
The username issue was a terrible idea, however. The mistake was actually made back when Google Profiles were released, and the only two options they gave were to use the username portion of your Gmail address, or a randomized string of characters.
If Google doesn't move Buzz out of Gmail, I'd sure like them to complete the integration. Google has the ability to make sure we don't have to see the same things more than once; in fact, if you're going to add clutter to Gmail, the onus is on them to make sure users are not burdened with duplication. For example, reading a Buzz thread in Buzz should automatically remove it from your inbox. And reading a shared item should remove it from Google Reader.
Suffice it to say that Buzz has a long way to go
