Archive for the Google+ Features Category

Google+ Changes Circles to ‘Find People’

Thursday, February 14th, 2013 | Permalink

After almost a year of taking a battering from skeptical critics it seems that a majority are finally realising the potential behind Google+, especially after GlobalWebIndex released data that Google+ is now the second most used online service with 343 million members using the social network. With this rapid growth it is interesting to see how Google are crafting their social network in order to cater for these new users. The newest example of this is the re-branding of ‘Circles’ to the new coined name: ‘Find People’.

Google Plus Find People

People joining the social network at this stage may have missed out on the initial hype and information on Google+’s features so terms such as ‘Circles’ and ‘Sparks’ most likely would have just caused newcomers to become confused. By renaming these features Google greatly reduce the risk of scaring these new members away and actually encourage them to interact with these features instead. In the case of ‘Find People’ interaction is exactly what Google wants as this will help increase their user base even further by encouraging individuals to invite their friends to G+ via other sources such as their Gmail contacts list. It is also a nice service for the public though as suggestions are provided according to your current and previous education, employment, etc, allowing you to quickly build and categorise your circles easily.

Another small but handy new feature worth mentioning is the ability to download all photos from a Google+ event. Previously this would be a long drawn out process as photos would have to be downloaded one by one but can now be downloaded at once by going to the particular event page, clicking on the Actions drop down menu and then selecting Download event photos.

Google Plus Event Download Photos

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Posted in Google+ Features | 2 Comments »

Google+ Photos – Pan & Zoom

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 | Permalink

It’s a new year and I am finally settled back in England. The trip to Google in Mountain View, California, was absolutely amazing and definitely a dream fulfilled. The summit I attended was purely AdWords focused and I didn’t meet anyone from the Google+ team unfortunately so I’m sad to say I have nothing G+ related to share from the trip. I can say that those offices are a hive of activity though and that there is certainly no slowing down from Google; I’m sure we are going to be seeing product and feature releases for a long time moving ahead in the future.

Shortly after returning from America I headed to Africa for a couple of weeks but actually managed to create a post about the new G+ communities before making the journey. To my horror that post pushed the entire blog over the edge and I thought I had lost the entire blog but thankfully my hosting provider managed to roll back the blog before that published post which resurrected the whole thing. So now everything is back to normal, I’m back in freezing England and I would like to bring a small G+ feature update to your attention.

Google employee, Dave Cohen, created a public post last on Google+ last night stating that desktop users now have the opportunity to pan and zoom photos for a better viewing experience. It may seem strange that there has been so much focus on the photo side of G+ but when browsing through my stream (and most likely yours too) it’s amazing to see how many G+ members use the social network as an image blog similar to the likes of Tumblr. Google have obviously noted this and are making an effort to keep this section of their market entertained by offering great features and the best user experiences possible.

google plus pan and zoom

Zoom in using the mouse wheel and then click and drag the image to pan around.

To try this new feature simply open a lightbox by clicking on a photo of your choice and then use your mouse wheel to zoom in or out and click and drag the image to pan around the zoomed area. High resolution pictures are going to work best with this feature as nobody enjoys zooming into a low quality pixelated picture so I recommend you experiment with Dave Cohen’s post picture as an example. The new feature personally reminded me of Ebay’s zoom and pan system which allows potential purchasers to review the product they want to buy (for possible scratches and defects) in greater detail. Feedback in the post’s comments section have been very positive which is great to see for a fairly small and simple feature.

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Google+ Goes Business

Friday, August 31st, 2012 | Permalink

When Google+ was first established and released to the public it disallowed businesses using Google Apps (such as Docs and Gmail) from signing up to the social network. In November 2011 however, Google made the wise decision of introducing Google+ Pages which gave companies an initial step into the world of G+. While not providing businesses with a full service it gave brands, products and services the opportunity to gain additional social exposure and awareness while also being a nice alternative to Facebook. During this period Google+ also introduced additional options to it’s Hangout feature in an attempt to have more businesses use the social service; allowing multiple people to have a video conference while editing Google docs was one excellent idea of many for example. A year has almost passed since these updates however so what have Google+ been working on from a business perspective?

This week Google launched it’s initial set of new business tools for it’s social network as the Official Google Enterprise Blog stated:

“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.”

Private Sharing for your Organisation

Sharing private information over a social network might not sound like the greatest idea but precautions have been put in place on Google+ in case you wish to do so. “Restricted Posts” give you more control over the content you share on Google+ allowing you to keep information within your organisation without the concern of posts being re-shared to exterior parties. I have to admit it took me a while to think of instances of where this could be useful but I suppose open announcements and questions can be displayed within company connections allowing discussions to take place without the risk of information leaking to connections who shouldn’t be aware of it.

Admin Controls

In addition to the privacy controls admins can now set default settings for the entire organisation to ensure that all information is retained securely.

Further Hangout Integration

Google have gradually integrated their products with Google+ since the release of the social network. Over this period Hangouts have seen the introduction of being able to access Google Docs mid-meeting with up to 10 people on a variety of different devices at the same time, while this can all be initiated straight from Gmail rather than having to access Google+ first. This week users will have the ability to add Hangouts to their Google Calendar meaning they will be able to enter the meeting directly from their entry on that day and hour.

 

Google Plus Calendar

Set up scheduled Hangouts so nobody missed an online meeting.

So it seems that Google+ might be more approachable from a business perspective if they keep progressing in this way. Will you guys be using any of these features or do you already?

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Google+ Events

Monday, July 9th, 2012 | Permalink

Following suit with Facebook, Google+ has released an Events feature allowing it’s users to organise themselves both socially and commercially online. At first glance it’s easy to say Google have just taken a direct copy of Facebook’s event model but at a closer look we can see there is more to the Google+ version.

The first and most outstanding feature of Google+ Events is ‘Party Mode‘, designed to engage mobile users who want to share their favourite moments. When attending an event you will receive a notification as it begins which prompts you to activate Party Mode, enabling this allows you to instantly and automatically share pictures in real-time with other event attendees while keeping everything organised within the event’s page. There is even the option to use a “live slideshow” which allows guests to show their captured moments as the event goes on. Gone are the days of missing albums due to cameras being lost, I’m pretty sure it would have made things more simple for The Hangover guys.

The whole organisation behind Google+ Events is also well designed as Google Calendar is used to sync these upcoming occasions giving you and other guests reminders and details of the event. Organising Google+ Hangouts wasn’t the smoothest of operations originally as hosts would have to rely on a post (which would eventually get lost in the stream) and remind it’s attendees to actually join the Hangout; thankfully events addresses this issue as you have the option to plan a Hangout in the same way you would a physical social event meaning that everyone invited is kept in the loop.

Google Plus Events

Don't forget to check the 'Advanced' drop down for more options.

You don’t have many personal friends on Google+ or they aren’t the type to host or go to events? The Google+ community is a friendly place and Google have recognised this by giving it’s users the ability to find public events, simply scroll down the list and find one that is appropriate to your interests. I foresee this having a massive impact on larger companies wanting to promote their products and services via organised events open to the public, there is no better free way to get as much attention as this feature is offering.

For the Android users out there I would strongly suggest checking out the free Google+ app available in the Google Play store, just don’t blame me when you wake up to a shared album of unsightly pictures after a long night with Party Mode left on!

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Google+ Instant Photo Uploads

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012 | Permalink

I came across a new Google+ YouTube video recently and was reminded of a cool feature; while not necessarily new I still thought I would bring it to your attention and also share the video as it’s pretty heart warming.

As shown in the video, you have the opportunity to instantly upload any pictures you take with your mobile phone. As soon as you snap a shot it is sent to an album of your choice on your Google+ profile. Users might be concerned that sensitive pictures (like baby photos as shown in the video) are exposed to the public but you have the ability to change privacy settings and then later re-allocate the pictures to albums of your choice. This allows your pictures to be stored safe and securely even if you lose the device they were taken on, pretty neat right?

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Google+ Local

Thursday, May 31st, 2012 | Permalink

It’s been a while since I created a post, basically because… it’s been a while since anything exciting happened with Google+? Despite the lengthy period without any updates and constant attacks by bloggers claiming that “Google+ is dying” it seems that the social network is running steadily along with it’s users now understanding what the Google+ culture is all about. Google’s new update should expand this culture further for those who are using the Google+ app on their phone as another Google product is integrated with the social network.

Google have teamed their product Google Places with Zagat to create Google+ Local, a simple and efficient way to share and discover local knowledge using reviews and maps. Let’s say I had just arrived in New York and stepped outside my hotel wanting to try a pizzeria, using Google+ Local and a quick search of “pizzeria” I am presented with all the pizza establishments close to my current location along with reviews for each one. Thankfully this service is not restricted to mobile devices and is accessible via the desktop version of Google+ here, useful if you are planning to visit a location and want to check out reviews on businesses before you get there as you can set a location of your choice when carrying out a search.

So where do these reviews come from? The short answer is you. The internet is now saturated with review websites allowing the public to see what others think of a product, service or place before trying it out for themselves; the amazing thing is that this has become an online culture and people are willing to leave reviews for free generally without incentives. This is where Zagat comes in, using previous reviews left on the website before this partnership Google+ Local already has a database to offer to it’s users without having to frantically encourage it’s members to start leaving their own reviews. A scale system 0f 0 to 3 is used across different categories depending on what type of business is being reviewed (Atmosphere in a restaurant for example) and then multiplied by 10 to gain averages when compared against many reviewers scores. Upon completion of the review you are also given the opportunity to share it on Google+ to circles of your choice, an excellent (or negative) promotional feature for the business in question. I am just curious to what has happened to the original Google Places 5 star reviews…

Google Plus Local

Zagat's simple review system.

So after reading this I imagine a lot of you are quietly thinking, “Well this just sounds like a clone of Foursquare with an achievement system missing”. I am a loyal Google+ user but I would have to agree with you, I can’t see much difference apart from the fact that Google+ is a much larger medium to share information with and Google Places was already well established. I can’t see myself moving from Foursquare to Google+ Local due to the perk system offered by the former, perhaps Google will encourage their Google Places for Business users to start offering coupons or vouchers of some sort. Will you guys be using this new update?

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Posted in Google+ Features, Google+ Local | 1 Comment »

Google+ Share Button

Friday, April 27th, 2012 | Permalink

Not too much has been happening in the world of Google+ recently but on Tuesday (April 24th) Google’s developers introduced a Google+ Share button. The basic idea is that while browsing content around the web you have the ability to share content to your Google+ stream without having to leave a +1 on the site. The idea might seem a pointless practice at first glance but Google (as always) have their reasons for the feature. Let’s say you were reading a controversial article about negative war practices for example, you wanted to share the article with your circles but at the same time did not wish to appear insensitive on the topic by giving a +1, the Share button gives you an opportunity to do this.

Google Plus Share Button

What is your opinion on the new button?

There have been a few Google+ users who are sceptical about the feature either claiming that it’s functionality isn’t different enough to have it’s own button separate to the standard +1 or that introducing an additional button will cause poor interface usability experiences. Cihan Demiral commented on the official Google+ Developer post the following -

“All right, let me get this straight: When you click on the +1 button, it lets you share via a pop-up — now we’ve got another button that only lets you share content, sans +1-ing it. Correct? Fantastic.

You could’ve made it so upon clicking a +1 button, it would give you the usual sharing pop-up, but there could be a +1 button right next to that green ‘Share’ button; that +1 button I proposed would also function as ‘Close’ — ‘+1 and close this pop-up’. Boom, ~5kb less js on every page on the internet and, more importantly, less confusion about the functionality of G+.

But no, it would be too simple. You’re right. Congrats.”

A discussion also took place in the official AdWords community on whether introducing the button would create too much clutter within threads -

http://www.en.adwords-community.com/t5/Community-lounge/The-new-G-Share-Button/m-p/18617

I think it will be interesting to see whether websites make use of the Share button or simply leave it alone, what are your opinions on it?

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Google+ Whitespace by Spencer Cartwright

Thursday, April 12th, 2012 | Permalink

Hey everyone, I thought I would freshen up the blog a little by introducing a guest poster. There is an amusing yet interesting trend on Google+ at the moment so I happened to stumble upon a great post by Spencer Cartwright who has kindly agreed to write about the topic:

“Yesterday (11th April) 204 days since Google+ opened its doors to the general public, the coolest social network received its first major makeover. The reaction has been very postive and it is clear that Google has been listening to its users. The new look Google+ interface boosts a customisable toolbar (Ribbon), a reformated comments and post interation area, a bigger emphasis on multimedia in posts and a general tidying up of the screen.

However, one issue that dominated discussions yesterday was the increase in unused screen space, dubbed whitespace. So much chatter was generated that the #usesofwhitespace and #useofwhitespace hastags rapidly climbed into the top five trending topics for Google+. The whitespace is a result of the main conversation feed (Stream) has been moved over to the left which means if you’re viewing Google+ on a widescreen monitor (and who isn’t these days?) you have almost half your screen unused. To be fair, when you’re at the top of your Stream, there are useful elements such as the list of trending topics and contact suggestions. This has prompted many innovative suggestions for the bright white area of your screen. Many posts have appeared with people using it to illuminate x-rays, to rest their iPad against and to hang strips of bacon from (I kid you not!).

Google Plus White Space

However, in the meantime, I would like to suggest some more practical uses for this space So here are my five top ideas for what they’re thinking:

1) Dockable window/pop-out for Hangouts - How cool will it be to have video chat going on while monitoring the Stream?

2) The return of YouTube - The YouTube player tab is no more, but the whitespace gives a great area for it to return to.

3) Custom Stream/Search - The ability to set up a second stream based on a custom search. You could keep your eye on a trending topic while still following the general conversations.

4) Widget area - As Google services become more integrated, the space could accomodate your stocks and weather widgets, your gmail notifications and Google Calendar. Think about how an iGoogle homepage looks.

5) Split pane - Have the stream on the left and the ability to open your Circles screen, photos or a game in the right hand area. True social media multitasking. It would be awesome to have your photos open on the right and then drag them directly into the Stream to create a new post.

I can guarantee that those clever people at Google have already got ideas of what they’re are going to do with this space. All the designers will be working on widescreen monitors and they all know about good design. So there is no way the unused screen area hasn’t gone unnoticed. We are just going to have to be patient and wait and see. One final thought, this whitespace has arisen because of an efficient design by the Google team. To have all this functionality at our fingertips, for it to be intuitive and still have room to spare on the screen, I think is a testament to the skill of the Google+ team.”

Spencer Cartwright is an educator with a passion for the use of technology in the classroom. You can follow him on Google+ via his personal profile (bitly.com/spencermc) or his ICT blog (bitly.com/spenceict), on Twitter (@spenceict) or on his website www.spenceict.co.uk

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Posted in Google+ Features | 5 Comments »

Google Docs & Google+ Hangouts

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 | Permalink

Google+ Hangouts have had a lot of focus recently with regards to changes and updates being made to the exclusive Google+ feature. The most recent should be an asset to both businesses and regular users alike as another product is merged onto the social network. Google Docs is now accessible from within a hangout allowing users to share and edit files while being able to discuss them face to face at the same time. It is amazing that such a useful tool is being provided as a free service, one that could revolutionise online conference calls where business people originally would have to all open their individual copies of files and try to follow along in sync. The main features include:

  • The ability to either create a brand new document from scratch (ideal for brainstorming) or to open an existing document from your profile to share with others.
  • Easily switch between multiple documents at once meaning that comparisons can be made rather than being restricted to one document at a time.
  • The feature is placed within a collapsible sidebar meaning that there is plenty of room to edit the document while still keeping the principle Hangout features.

There is already (unsurprisingly) plenty of support from the Google+ community for this new update, I could definitely foresee businesses making the transition to Google’s social network purely for the free functionality of this new feature.

Google Plus Hangouts and Google Documents

Share and Edit documents while discussing them face to face with your contacts.

 

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Posted in Google+ & Google Docs, Google+ Features | No Comments »

Good Google+ News for Teenagers

Monday, January 30th, 2012 | Permalink

When I was first invited to the Google+ beta I attempted to invite as many of my friends as possible to join the social network with me. I was shocked however when one friend stated that she wouldn’t be able to create a profile, I assumed this was due to personal reasons but it ended up being because she was a few months younger than the minimum joining age of 18. At the time I instantly thought, “why are Google cutting out such a large portion of the potential market?” I then started to consider that they would need to provide a good first impression if they were to convert social network users from competitive companies; letting teenagers run loose on the new product wouldn’t exactly contribute to this initial ideal image and would most likely have a negative impact on the goal.

Google Plus Safety Center

Google+ is becoming a social network with responsibility.

Times have quickly changed and Google are now enabling teenagers as young as 13 to also join the ever growing social network. There are obviously always concerns about younger ones being exposed to the social world of the internet but this update has been released along with the introduction of additional security features that will help keep both younger and older users’ privacy protected. Some of these features include:

  • Sharing content - Teens will now be encouraged to consider their sharing decision when attempting to post outside of their circles, I imagine this will be in the form of some popup prompt asking the user whether they really want to do share the content to such a wide audience.
  • Hanging out with friends - This one might prove frustrating for some users but basically whenever a stranger joins a hangout from outside a teen’s circles then that teen will be temporarily removed from the hangout in an attempt to protect their identity. It’s not ideal for the teen getting kicked out of a flowing conversation every time someone joins but I imagine many of you parents reading this wouldn’t be too happy with strangers seeing your child on a webcam either.
  • Receiving notifications - Currently people outside your circles have the opportunity to communicate with you (unless your adjust your privacy settings). Teenagers by default will only be approachable by users who are already within their circles.
While not the most advanced of security features it’s still good to see that Google are taking some sort of action to protect younger users online, you have most likely heard at least one horrible story which was caused by strangers targeting children via social networks so this is definitely a serious issue to address. If you want to find out more about keeping yourself or your child protected then I suggest you check out Bradly Horowitz’s post regarding the changes and also the Google+ Safety Centre itself.

 

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