Google Plus was developed at breakneck speed to counter the rising threat of Facebook in social. Launched in June 2011, Google Plus allowed users to post status updates and organized friends into groups called Circles. There was an instant messaging and video component called Hangouts, as well as a photo backup service.
In addition to being a social network, Plus was meant to be the social layer to all of Google’s other products. A user’s Google Plus profile was used for many other services, like YouTube. The ‘+1’ button was a competitor to Facebook’s ‘Like’ button and was present throughout the web.
Despite the attempts at company-wide integration, Google Plus never really took of among users. In November of 2015, Google unveiled a major redesign that put a renewed focus on Collections and Communities to create an interest-based social network instead.
Popular features like Hangouts and Google Photos were eventually spun out into their own separate and wildly popular product.
Google+ Hangouts today got a remote desktop feature, allowing simultaneous control of a remote PC with video chat – the perfect tool for keeping your mum happy while you troubleshoot her PC … Expand Expanding Close
Today, Google has announced that it is integrating Google+ comments into its Blogger blogging service.For example, comments from Google+ users regarding a Blogger post will actually show up in the comments on a Blogger blog post.
Now when you’re browsing your blog’s comment threads, you’ll see activity from direct visitors, and from people talking about your content on Google+. For example, if there’s a public Google+ discussion about one of your blog entries, those comments and replies will also appear on your Blogger blog. This way you can engage with more of your readers, all in one place.
With Google’s recent moves to unify its products, this change is notable as it integrates both Google+ and Blogger in a seamless, sensible fashion…
A message reported by a Google+ users suggests that Google’s rumored Babel integrated messaging service may be close to launch:
The screengrab posted by Patrick Dhawaan shows the message All conversations have been moved to the Trash. Because one or more are part of a Babel chat, these messages are still available in other Babel chat applications … Expand Expanding Close
Google’s Nathan Johns posted a picture of an all-pink Tesla Model S yesterday complete with the official bat signal on its hood, bat wings as a spoiler, and Chrome’s logo embedded in the middle of its alloys.
This candy-coated Tesla apparently belongs to Google cofounder Sergey Brin. According to Search Engine Round Table, Brin’s beloved and spirited Googlers played an elaborate April Fool’s Day prank last Monday and transformed his zero-emissions car into a cute flashy Batmobile.
Brin—seen driving his Tesla around LinkedIn’s headquarters in the image above (via Brian Li)—is sometimes called “Batman” around Google because of his Batcave-like Google X repository.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is live on stage in Menlo Park, Calif., and he just unveiled his company’s new home on Android: called “Home”.
Facebook clarified that it’s not building a phone directly, nor is it building an operating system, instead the company unveiled “Home”. Home is for Android devices, and it is literally the home screen and “soul of your phone,” as Zuckerberg explained. Home is also “family of apps.”
9to5Google posted the first look at “Home” yesterday, but Facebook just gave a quick run down as to what the interface can really do. For instance: Cover feed, a window that replaces the lock screen and home screen, allows users to navigate by flipping through, double tapping, etc.
Users can double-tap to “Like” a post and comment right from the home screen, and they can tap their own face and swipe to get to apps. Users can also swipe up to see their favorite apps in the launcher. There’s even a screen containing all apps, so they can drag their favorite apps to the launcher. Meanwhile, notifications come from people and not apps. Each notification has a person’s face, and users can collect all notifications in a stack and either swipe or save them.
Facebook also announced a new messaging service called “Chat heads” that works with both Facebook messages and SMS. A chat head appears with in the upper right, where users can tap on them, move them, or stack them. Tapping will bring up messages.
Facebook will launch Home via Google Play on April 12, with download availability coming for tablets in a few months. Facebook will maintain Home “just like the regular Facebook app,” and it promises to issue updates at least once a month with new features.
Only a few devices are ready for launch, including: the HTC One X, One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, and eventually the HTC One and the Galaxy S4. There’s even a “Facebook Home Program” for phone manufacturers, and HTC, AT&T, Samsung, Sony, etc., have all signed up.
Zuckerberg just handed the stage over to HTC executives to unveil the first device that will officially run the platform— the HTC First. More details on Home are in the press release and videos below.
Arthur Frommer announced yesterday that he reacquired the rights to his travel brand from Google with plans to continue publishing Frommer’s guidebooks.
Google acquired Frommer’s last summer from the Wiley publishing company, but Skift.com reported recently that the Internet Giant intended to “cease production” of Frommer’s books.
Frommer, 83, originally sold his travel line to Simon & Schuster in 1977. Despite nearly 40 years of separation, Frommer told the Associated Press on Wednesday that he bought his brand back from Google.
“It’s a very happy time for me,” said Frommer. “We will be publishing the Frommer travel guides in ebook and print formats and will also be operating the travel site Frommers.com.”
Google+ now allows users to upload and share full-size photos from their desktops.
Google+ introduced full-size backups for Android photos in December 2012, and now it has expanded support for that functionality. Google’s Jon Emerson has the story:
To enable full-size desktop uploads, just visit your settings at www.google.com/settings/plus, and check “Upload my photos at full size.” Afterwards, any files larger than 2048px will count towards your Google storage (up to 5GB free). Photo storage at 2048px or smaller remains free and unlimited.
Emerson clarified that the update doesn’t allow users to replace previously uploaded images with a new full-size version. But, hey, now they can update their profile photo, create a new album to share, or back up pictures with better-detailed images up to 2048 pixels large.
Google just announced on Google+ that it will roll out a few changes to the desktop version of the service starting today. Some of the updates include a new tab for local reviews for easy access to restaurant reviews from the sidebar, updates to the ‘About’ tab that making editing easier, and larger cover photos up to 2,120-by-1,192-pixel:
– A new tab for your Local reviews. In addition to your photos, +1’s and YouTube videos, there’s now a place for all your Local reviews. Highlight your favorite restaurants, or hide the tab completely via settings — it’s completely up to you.
– An easier way to edit your info. The ‘About’ tab now consists of separate cards (like Story, Places, and Links) — each with its own prominent edit link. As always: you can share specific fields with specific circles, or keep them just for you.
– Bigger cover photos, with a better aspect ratio. Cover photos are much larger than before (up to 2120px by 1192px), and they display in 16×9 when fully expanded. This way more images can be used as cover photos, and there’s more room for your selection to shine.
Google said it would roll out the new features gradually to all users.
New countries & territories: Albania, Anguilla, Barbados, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chad, Republic of Congo, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Liberia, Macau, Malawi, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Swaziland, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos, Ukraine, British Virgin Islands, Zimbabwe
Everyone finds a holiday angle during this time of year, and after launching 18 new features, dubbed as “treats” wrapped together “in one holiday package,” Google+ is one of the many.
On the mobile side, according to the official Gplusproject blog, Google+ announced it added new Android features that include on-the-go profile editing , streamlined ways to author content, a notice when there’s new content to read, and the ability to subscribe to mobile notifications from favorite circles and interact with Google+ Communities. Google+ also launched full-sized backups of photos, with up to 5GB free (turn on Instant Upload to start), and photospheres now appear in the mobile stream (Android 4.2 required to snap 360-degree panoramas, but Froyo or later users can enjoy them now).
As for connecting, Google+ pushed out extra features to make event planning easier that include the ability to message specific guests, view opened invitations, and invite people through Google+ by sending an event URL via email or IM. Guests can also now RSVP with the number of people they want to bring, and a new duplication feature allows event makers to copy their original event as Google+ pulls all the important details.
Google Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra, who is also known as the man behind Google+, admitted at the SMX Social Media Marketing conference last night that “his boss” asked him to stop tweeting on Twitter.
Many reports assumed Google CEO Larry Page is the boss in question and further surmised that the above tweet is probably the reason behind his request. Gundotra’s tweet occurred around the same time Microsoft landed a strategic mobile partnership with Nokia that would replace Symbian with the Windows Phone operating system. The timing led to speculation that the tweet was a dig at both companies.
The Next Web published a transcript of Gundotra’s explanation:
No, actually I was asked not to do that by my boss. I tweeted a tweet about two companies that went viral, went very very viral and made a lot of headline news. And honestly, I didn’t anticipate that my comments would be interpreted in the way they were interpreted.
I thought I was speaking to a relatively small number of people who followed me, a developer-oriented group, and instead it went mainstream. And so, uhm, I’ve curtailed my usage since then.
Google announced a new Google+ feature today, dubbed “Communities”, in a post on the Official Google Blog that aims to bring people of common interests together in discussions on the network. The new Google+ Communities will be made up of both private and public groups, discussion categories for finding conversations that meet your interest, hangouts, and sharing through +1 integration. You can activate the new feature by clicking the “Communities” icon to join or create a new community.
From photography to astronomy (and everythinginbetween), Google+ has always been a place to crowd around common interests and meet new people. What’s been missing, however, are more permanent homes for all the stuff you love: the wonderful, the weird, and yes, even the things that are waaay out there. With Google+ Communities there’s now a gathering place for your passions
Google+ Vice President of Product Bradley Horowitz sat down with Business Insider at its Ignition conference today to discuss Google+ numbers and diss Facebook’s latest ad scheme.
The numbers haven’t changed (400 million registered users, with 100 million visitors coming back at least once a month), but the most interesting tidbit from Horowitz concerns his opinion on Facebook integrating ads into the news feed.
He used the metaphor of a guy with a sandwich board running in between an intimate conversation between a man and his daughter, an obvious allusion to the ads and promoted brands you see in your Facebook news feed.
Instead, Horowitz said it’s much more useful (and less annoying) to users to show social recommendations instead of ads. For example, if you search for a product in Google –– say a microwave –– you can see which one your Google+ contacts recommend.
What’s this? A cliché shot of an airplane’s wing taken by the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google. Not quite, look again:
Vic Gundotra shared the majestic photo, as first noted by #googleplusupdate, to his Google+ profile via Snapseed. As far as the public knows, Snapseed, despite Google buying its developer last month, is an iOS-only app.
The oh-so hip Plus team over at Google released a new commercial today. The 1 minute and 13 second clip shows off Google+ for Android’s array of features, including the app’s ability to share life “as it happens” and seeing the latest from your friends at the touch of your fingertips. It is not clear where the new commercial will air (most likely just the web), but it should encourage users to download the Google+ for Android app. Check out how Google’s Nexus 7 ad stacked up against Apple. Expand Expanding Close
Google just announced a partnership with Peres Center for Peace in honor of today’s 30th annual International Day of Peace.
Peres Center for Peace promotes peace between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel and neighboring Arab countries. Google and the non-profit organization are hosting a series of Hangouts on Google+ to “enable dialogue between Israeli Arab and Jewish students.”
“Hanging Out for Peace” is a six-month project that will involve nearly 150 Israeli university students, women and men, with an equal number of Arabs and Jews. Students will be divided into mixed Jewish and Arab ‘circles’, matched with other students who study the same subject at university.
The circles will meet via Hangouts on Google+, led by instructors from the Peres Center, and will undertake online and offline projects related to the circle’s area of academic focus. After a series of Hangouts, the students will meet face to face, present the projects they’ve developed to the larger group of participants and discuss issues that arose during their work together.
If Google’s Glass(es) are going to ever gain mainstream acceptance, they will have to be seen as not only something acceptable to wear in public but also as something fashionable. To that end, Google is teaming with renowned designer Diane von Furstenberg on a project to document the creative process leading up to a fashion show. On Sept. 13, the two companies will release a video of the project on the DVF Google+ page and Google’s YouTube channel.
In a statement, Diane von Furstenberg said, “I am so excited to introduce Glass to the fashion world and use this revolutionary technology to give everyone a unique perspective into fashion.” Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and head of Project X ,which oversees projects like Google Glass and driverless cars, said, “Beauty, style and comfort are as important to Glass as the latest technology. We are delighted to bring Glass to the runway together with DVF.”
WWD spotted Brin and wife Anne Wojcicki with DVF yesterday.
On Saturday afternoon, Google co-founder Sergey Brin was spotted at Diane von Furstenberg during fittings for her Sunday show. Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki are slated to attend the show, and Wojcicki was being dressed by the designer for the occasion. Brin’s presence was more than just a sartorial coincidence: WWD has learned that some Google-developed technology will be introduced at the runway show. Specific details of the technology could not be learned, and an announcement about it is expected to be made Sunday morning.
Wearing a plain shirt, khaki shorts and Crocs, Brin, whose personal wealth is estimated to be $18.7 billion, admitted that style is not exactly on the top of his mind. “I probably wouldn’t call myself a fashion guy but I am getting there,” he said. Von Furstenberg and the pre-fashion show fittings could hasten the process. “It’s pretty impressive,” Brin said. “It’s quite the operation if you look at the number of styles and the models. It’s an amazing thing to watch.”
Although there is nothing in the press release explicitly saying so, it would not surprise me to see some runway models strutting around with some Glass headsets as well.
Google started giving Google Apps users access to Google+ in October, and the company added to its initiative today by publicly launching Google+ for enterprise uses with a set of new business-focused social features.
According to a post by Google Apps Product Management Director Clay Bavor on the Google Enterprise Blog, the features include restricted sharing options, Hangouts integrated into Gmail, Calendar, Docs and other Google services, and administrative controls:
So today we’re launching an initial set of Google+ features designed specifically for businesses, and we’re excited to move into a full preview mode for Apps customers. During this preview period, organizations that have gone Google will be able to use the business features of Google+ for free through the end of 2013 while we continue to add more features and administrative controls designed for organizations.
For the past few months, pilot customers like Kaplan and Banshee Wines have been using Google+ to help employees engage and connect with each other. We’ve worked hard to incorporate early feedback from pilot customers into our plans, and we’re thrilled to begin offering Google+ features tailored to organizations.
Google Product Manager Austin Chang made an announcement on his Google+ today highlighting some new features rolling out on Google+ (via TNW). In addition to the “sliders” the service rolled out last year, allowing you to filter what you read and share on Google+, Google is rolling out three new features today that provide even more control. The new features allow you to control notifications from specific circles, opt to send emails for important news you are sharing, and mute notifications from a specific contact within a circle. Chang explained:
AOL-owned news network Huffington Post debuted its new HuffPost live streaming network this morning with cofounder Arianna Huffington introducing it as the stream fired up at 10 a.m. EST. The network will stream live from New York for eight hours a day and live from Los Angeles for four hours a day on weekdays. Highlights will air on the weekend. With a total of 10 hosts and help from Huffington Post bloggers and editors, the network has a focus on audience participation with user’s being able to call-in via webcam.
AOL is using its own technology for audience participation. However, I noticed while watching the stream this morning that Huffington Post is opting to use Google+ Hangouts for roundtables with its bloggers, editors, and guests. We already saw how many times Google+ Hangouts has been adopted by politicians, public figures, and more to communicate with fans. The NFL even uses it for its fantasy football league.
Google+ Hangouts ease of use and reliability may be why the folks at HuffPost opted to use it rather than another solution like Skype. Hangouts offers great features. For instance, it automatically highlights the person that is talking, which is something that a talk show could certainly benefit from. It is also very easy to get guests on Hangouts through quick invites via email.
As first noted by Marketing Land’s Danny Sullivan, Google+ came out on top among the highest scores for social media sites in the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for its debut year. The downfall for Facebook, according to the report, is largely due to the introduction of Timeline, advertisements, and privacy concerns. On the other hand, better privacy controls, no ads, and great mobile support allowed Google+ to take the top spot:
In a blog post on his Google+ page, Google+ Product Manager Ronald Ho announced a new tool to transfer circles from one account to another that is now available through Google Takeout. In an overview of the long-requested feature, Google explained the tool would migrate “circle names, circle members, “your circles” settings, and people and pages you’ve blocked or ignored.” However, Google noted there is a 7-day waiting period before a transfer is initiated, and both profiles will have limited functionality until the transfer is complete:
-There’s a 7 day waiting period before your transfer begins.
-To cancel the transfer before it starts, sign in to either account on Google+. Then click Cancel transfer at the bottom of the page. Note that you cannot cancel using a mobile interface.
-If the source or destination accounts are managed by an organization, the account administrator may restrict your ability to transfer your connections and/or use Google+.
-You won’t be able to use this tool with these accounts again for 6 months.
-Once the transfer begins, it cannot be cancelled or undone.
As for limited functionality, both accounts will not be able to share content on Google+ during the transfer—nor can they add, remove, block, or ignore people in circles and elsewhere. Google continued by explaining the result of a transfer once complete:
When Google announced some updates to Google+ during its I/O keynote this week, perhaps apart from the new iPad compatible tablet version, the most talked about new feature was the Facebook-like invitations called “Events.” While Google calendar integration in the Events feature was supposed to be a big selling point, Google unfortunately did not provide users with control over which invites were added to their calendars. The issue led to massive amounts of spam in the form of notifications and calendar entries—most notably for Google+ users with large followings. Robert Scoble outlined the problem in a Google+ post:
Hey, +Vic Gundotra the way you rolled out the new Google+ events feature was — by far — the worst social launch ever… Not only did it spam the crap out of my notifications and my Google+ events page but it added events — hundreds of them — onto my calendar…My calendar is MINE. Not yours. You should NEVER put anything on it that I don’t approve of… I have turned down every event and they are still on my calendar so now I have to delete them one-by-one… By the way, I’ve been asking for noise controls since day one and you guys simply aren’t getting it. Amazingly bad service here folks.
As noted by Scoble, another avid Google+ user, Will Wheaton, highlighted the issue and received a response from Google’s Senior Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra: Expand Expanding Close
Google makes Hangouts, Talk, and Messenger available to its users to keep up communication with friends and colleagues. With as much as Google has pushed its new group video chat service Google Hangouts, one might wonder why the company has two other communication services lying around. When asked that very question today at an I/O session on Hangouts this afternoon, Google Product Manager Nikhyl Singhal had answers. GigaOm noted that Singhal said: “We have done an incredibly poor job servicing our users here.” The Google employee also noted that while the company does not have anything to announce yet, it is working to join its communication platform together into one platform, which would allow users to do text chats, one-on-one video chats, and group video chats simultaneously. In my opinion, it is a smart move. It would definitely go along with Google’s recent move to cut-down on a slew of services and just focus on one product.
Interestingly, another Google employee shared that the Google staff does a whopping “10,000 hangouts every day.” As for more Hangout features, the only bit revealed during the session is that the team hopes to bring all features to every supported device. That sounds lovely! (via GigaOm)
