Is G+ Putting Facebook On The Defensive? Editor’s note: This guest post is written by Tom Anderson, the former President, founder and first friend on MySpace. You can now find Tom on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. If it’s not obvious yet, Google+ is going to be able to “undercut” Facebook when it comes to game developers and platform transactions. Instead of taking a 30% cut of all Farmville seeds (or whatever people are buying), Google will be able to take a smaller percentage for themselves. They may even take nothing. And when it comes to “monetization” on the G+ “website,” Google’s trump card against Facebook is that we may never even see an ad on G+. Google has plenty to gain without ever showing an ad and, put simply, Google doesn’t need the money.
Facebook’s got to know this, and it’s got to have them just a little bit concerned. This week, the WSJ reported that FB is testing out a “real-time” feed (as opposed to Facebook’s current default “Top News” algorithm). Google+ Mobile App (for Android) Review & Rating. Do Google services work best when used on Google platforms? I was curious if that would be the case when I installed the a Google+ Mobile app (free) on an Android-based phone (Android being Google's mobile operating system).
In fairness, Google's new social network, Google+, runs just as well on Android as it does as an iPhone app (free, 3.5 stars). It doesn't get special treatment on Android, except that when you download and install the app, you actually get two: the primary Google+ app and a separate app for Huddle, or group chat. The only other difference is that the interface on Android deviates slightly from what's in the iPhone app; the way the apps work is largely the same, however. Mobile apps are essential to the whole social networking experience. Think about Facebook and Twitter.
Mobile apps are the most convenient way to check in on what's happening, and just as quickly get back to life in real time. Part of this success comes from the design. At one month, Google+ already a 'major player' Google+ on Thursday hit its one-month birthday and is already a major social networking player, analysts say. Google released its much-anticipated social network on June 28. Google+ quickly grabbed headlines, gained 10 million users in its first two weeks (and another 10 million since then) and had people seeking invitations to its field trial from total strangers.
Oh, and it's gained a lot of interest in the much-sought-after and lucrative enterprise market. Businesses have been clamoring to set up Google+ accounts, even though the network has asked companies and organizations to wait until a business version is ready in a few months. "With tens of millions of users and Google behind it, Google+ has become a major player," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. All of this fanfare and success means Facebook, which had been skating along with nary a serious rival, is having to make room for a new competitor.
Chatroulette + Google Hangouts= PlusRoulette. Google Plus Has A Problem. Fear Not: I Have A Solution. Google+ will let users conceal gender | Privacy Inc. The Ford Motor Company has officially decided that its gender is not male. Nor is it female. On the Google+ social networking site, Ford lists it as "other. " That may not exactly be incorrect, but the bit of corporate awkwardness was the result of Google making two interrelated design decisions: first, gender can be only male, female, or other. Second, whatever gender is selected must be public.
Until now. Google announced this evening that gender could be hidden from public profiles, a move that likely comes as a relief to ABC News Radio (other), the Austin American-Statesman (ditto), and the Chicago Sun-Times (you guessed it). Frances Haugen, a Google product manager, announced the change in a post and video this evening that said it would take effect this week.
Haugen said that asking for gender is useful to personalize Google+, especially in non-English languages with masculine and feminine word forms. It's also convenient for companies. And here's Haugen's video: Five reasons why Google+ will succeed. The verdict is out on Google+ until Google finally opens the floodgates and lets the masses in to decide for themselves. But that doesn’t mean we can’t look into our crystal balls. Dueling columnists Andrew Couts and Jeff Van Camp debate the merits of Google+ from both sides of the aisle. Here, Van Camp looks on the positive side with five reasons Google+ is positioned to rocket to the top. For a grittier take on the challenges Google will face, be sure to check out Couts’ five reasons Google+ will fail. There are plenty of reasons to write off Google’s first full-fledged foray into social networking. It’s simple and easy to use Early impressions from those in the beta have been largely positive.
Impressions of the interface were also decidedly positive. At least from a usability and visual standpoint, Google finally seems to have hit the mark. Google has learned from Facebook Its has defining features The social network is launching with six core areas: It’s integrated everywhere. Watch Twitter Explode: Google+ Invites Granted To Early Users. If there’s been a question I’ve been asked more than “do you have any Google+ invites?” , I can’t remember it. And it’s only been a day! Sadly, I haven’t had any invites to give out. Google has decided they’re going to roll out the network very slowly. Or that was the plan. It now appears that early Google+ users (meaning the one who got access just yesterday) now have the option to invite other people.
I realize that by posting this, I’m really asking for it. One big caveat: I have no clue if these invites grant immediate access, or if they’re simply a way for you to add friends you’d like to get invites — then they’ll be added to the waitlist. Update: As Google’s Bradley Horowitz notes in the comments: “Google has decided they’re going to roll out the network very slowly. A Review of Google+ Forget being friended on Facebook or followed on Twitter. What you really want now is to be Circled—or so Google hopes. The company's latest social-networking effort, Google+, lets users organize people into Circles of friends so you can choose what you share with each group.
It offers multi-person video chats and a feature called Sparks that encourages users to plug into news that interests them. It integrates with Picasa, Google's photo site. Google+ is designed to compete with Facebook, but judging from my non-techie friends' reactions over the past two weeks, the initial setup can be confusing. Testing, Testing Like most of Google's products (think Gmail), the Google+ you now see isn't a finished version. Features Made Obvious Surprisingly, Google+ was designed with more attention to appearance and delightful animations than most other Google programs.
Post by Craig Kanalley. Google+ Users Want App Store, Facebook Data Imports. What's next for the new Google+ social network? If Google acts on its users' requests, the ability to export data from Facebook to Google+ might be one, as well as an app store. And one user already acted on his own request: a Chrome extension to export Google+ Stream posts to Facebook and Twitter. Announced Tuesday, Google's Google+ takes on Facebook in form and function. With LinkedIn serving as a social network for jobs, PCMag.com's hands-on found Google+ to be a social network for geeks, chock full of new features and social options.
Even Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has joined Google+, although his profile page has just one update: a change to his profile picture. Within Google+, any comments attached to a public post are themselves public, and early users attached enthusiastic comments to two posts from Vic Gundotra, Google's senior vice president of engineering, with congratulations and feature requests. Facebookoff tool? Invites, invites, invites An app store An API. What Your Business Needs To Know About Google+ Unless you’ve avoided the Internet over the past two weeks, you’ve probably heard about Google’s big play into the social web. It’s called Google+, and it’s been labeled the search giant’s Facebook contender. That’s a modest assessment. Make no mistake. Google+ is aiming at Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter users. They want a piece of everyone’s pie. Whether they succeed in doing so is open to debate But with the amount of activity and hoopla going on around Google+, it’s safe to assume it will be around for a bit.
How Is It Different? The user experience is clean and crisp. Another feature is Sparks, which helps you discover news articles you might want to share based on your interests. How Do I Get On? The social web is currently divided into two portions right now: those on Google+ and everyone else. For now, the best you can do right now is sign up to be notified when Google open the doors. How Do I Create a Brand Page? Click here to view the video. Google Plus Deleting Accounts En Masse: No Clear Answers.
A striking number of Google+ accounts have been deleted in the last 24 hours as the new social network struggles with its community standards policy around real names - alienating and frightening the people it aims to serve. Removed but restored through influence is Limor Fried - AKA Lady Ada / Adafruit Industries: She was recently featured on the cover of WIRED Magazine. Google suspended Limor Fried “Ladyada” Google+ profile, no show-and-tell tonight… Her account has just now been mysteriously restored, though only after a groundswell of complaints. Suffice it to say, the rest of the deleted accounts will not have such well-placed advantages.
Many have now been purged and not restored. The message I received this morning from the source in my previous Google+ article summarized it, Google+ suspended my acct "After reviewing your profile, we determined the name you provided violates our Community Standards. " Just Like Facebook's Real Name Hypocrisy Bill Noble writes, Google+ business profiles to include analytics & more.
If businesses can contain themselves for just a few more months, they’ll have much better Google+ tools than the ones that currently exist. In fact, Google will be unveiling specially tweaked profiles with analytics and more sophisticated sharing options, all coming during (or shortly after) Q3 2011. Businesses that don’t have the patience to wait for those features and instead jump into Google+ with a personal account will suffer a rather painful consequence; they won’t be able to migrate that personal accounts to a business profile.
Google isn’t building a migration tool, and it says switching accounts manually could get messy. In an exclusive interview with VentureBeat, a Google spokesperson confirmed, “There will be a product very soon that has businesses’ interests in mind… We want to give them the features businesses expect and the features that can improve the sharing experience both for consumers and businesses.” In the meantime, Google is still asking businesses for patience.