I'm excited too. Of course, it is beneficial to have friends with this service, so, it won't be very useful to me in that case. If you haven't signed up yet, here is the link.
https://plus.google.com/up/start/?sw=1&type=st ---------------------------------------- Have a Better One, Edward Crosby http://about.me/edwardcrosby On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 4:27 PM, Race <[email protected]> wrote: > Dammit Cary, you beat me to this. I strongly suggest everyone read > the full Wired article (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/inside- > google-plus-social/). > > I like the social "thing", but Facebook has always left me with a > nagging feeling like I was overexposed. This Circles concept sounds > perfect for me. I'm kinda excited about this. I'll be looking for a > beta invite for sure. > > On Jun 28, 4:01 pm, Edward Crosby <[email protected]> wrote: > > More info. > > > > http://lifehac.kr/mEQYcP > > > > ---------------------------------------- > > Have a Better One, > > Edward Crosbyhttp://about.me/edwardcrosby > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 1:27 PM, Cary Preston <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > Last night, you may have heard talk of a mysterious black bar appearing > on > > > the top of Google.com. Or you may have even seen it yourself. No, you > > > weren’t hallucinating. It was a sign of something about to show itself. > > > Something big. Google+ <http://plus.google.com/>. > > > > > What is Google+? It’s the super top-secret social project that Google > has > > > been working on for the past year. You know, the one being led by > General > > > Patton< > http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/war-patten-rommel-vic-gundotra-googl.. > .>(Vic > > > Gundotra <http://www.crunchbase.com/person/vic-gundotra>) and General > > > MacArthur (Bradley Horowitz< > http://www.crunchbase.com/person/bradley-horowitz>). > > > Yes, the one Google has tried to downplay as much as humanly possible — > even > > > as we got leak <http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/02/google-plus-one-brin/ > >after > > > leak <http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/07/google-plus-one-pic/> after > leak<http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/17/google-plus-one-video/>of what they > were > > > working <http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/01/google-social-emerald-sea/> > on. > > > Yes, the one they weren’t going to make a big deal about< > http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/13/google-social-launch-event/> with > > > pomp and circumstance. It’s real. And it’s here. > > > > > Sort of. > > > > > You see, the truth is that Google really is trying not to make a huge > deal > > > out of Google+. That’s not because they don’t have high hopes for it. > Or > > > because they don’t think it’s any good. Instead, it’s because what > they’re > > > comfortable showing off right now is just step one of a much bigger > picture. > > > When I sat down with Gundotra and Horowitz last week, they made this > point > > > very clear. In their minds, Google+ is more than a social product, or > even a > > > social strategy, it’s an extension of Google itself. Hence, Google+. > > > > > How’s that for downplaying it? > > > > > “We believe online sharing is broken. And even awkward,” Gundotra says. > “We > > > think connecting with other people is a basic human need. We do it all > the > > > time in real life, but our online tools are rigid. They force us into > > > buckets — or into being completely public,” he continues. “Real life > sharing > > > is nuanced and rich. It has been hard to get that into software,” is > the > > > last thing he says before diving into a demo of Google+. > > > > > What he proceeds to show me is a product that in many ways is so well > > > designed that it doesn’t really even look like a Google product. When I > tell > > > Gundotra and Horowitz this, they laugh. “Thank you,” Gundotra says very > > > enthusiastically. Clearly, they’ve put a lot of work into both the UI > and UX > > > of Google+. > > > > > The first thing Gundotra shows me about Google+, and the first thing > you’re > > > likely to interact with, is something called “Circles”. You may recall > that talk > > > of this feature< > http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_to_launch_major_new_socia...>leaked > out a few months ago — though it wasn’t exactly right. In fact, our > > > story from months prior about a feature of Google +1 (the name of the > > > network at the time which ended up being the name of the button — more > on > > > that in a bit) called “Loops” may have been a bit closer< > http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/04/google-plus-one-iphone-facebook-loop/>. > > > That is, Circles isn’t actually a stand-alone product, it’s a feature > of > > > Google+ — an important one. “It’s something core to our product,” > Gundotra > > > says. > > > > > It’s through Circles that users select and organize contacts into > groups > > > for optimal sharing. I know, I know — not more group management. But > the > > > truth is that Google has made the process as pleasant as possible. You > > > simply select people from a list of recommended contacts (populated > from > > > your Gmail and/or Google Contacts) and drag them into Circles you > designate. > > > The UI for all of this is simple and intuitive — it’s so good, that you > > > might even say it’s kind of fun. It beats the pants off of the method > for > > > creating a group within Facebook. > > > > > Gundotra realizes that many social services have tried and failed to > get > > > users to create groups. But he believes they’ll succeed with Circles > because > > > he says they’re using software in the correct way to mimic the real > world. > > > More importantly, “you’re rewarded for doing this,” he says. How so? A > big > > > feature of Google+ is the toolbar that exists across the top of all > Google > > > sites (yes, the aforementioned black one). Once your Circles are set, > > > sharing with any of them from any Google site is simple thanks to this > > > toolbar. > > > > > Speaking of this black toolbar, which was codenamed the “Sandbar” as > Google > > > was working on it, Horowitz explains that it arose from the fact that > > > sharing models on different sites are all different. The toolbar is an > > > attempt to unify them. This toolbar will exist across all Google > properties > > > (though it may take some time to fully roll out). And down the road, > you can > > > imagine browser extensions, mobile versions, etc. But again, we’re on > step > > > one here. > > > > > Next, Gundotra showed off a feature called “Sparks”. He was quick to > note > > > that even though it’s a search box, this is not some sort of new search > > > engine. Instead, he calls is a “sharing engine”. “Great content leads > to > > > great conversations,” he says. With Sparks, you enter an interest you > have > > > and Google goes out and finds elements on the web that they think > you’ll > > > care about. These can be links to blog posts, videos, books — anything > that > > > Google searches for. If you find something you like, you can click on > an > > > item to add it to your interest list (where it will stay for you to > quickly > > > refer to anytime you want). Or you can see what others are liking and > > > talking about globally in the “Featured interests” area. > > > > > “Our goal here is to connect people. And everyone has a camera in their > > > pocket,” Gundotra says as he shows me “Instant Upload”. This feature of > > > Google+ relies on the use of a mobile device (either an Android phone > or > > > iPhone) to take photos or shoot video. From a new app, you’ll do either > of > > > these things and the content will automatically be uploaded to Google+ > in > > > the background and shared with whichever Circle you set. > > > > > Another feature of Google+ is called “Huddle”. It’s essentially a group > > > messaging app that works across Android, iPhone, and SMS to allow you > to > > > communicate with the people in certain Circles. When I asked why they > > > wouldn’t just use Disco, the group messaging app that the Slide team > within > > > Google built <http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/25/disco-app/>, Horowitz > would > > > only smile and pretend that he didn’t know what I was talking about. > > > > > Finally, there’s a feature called “Hangouts”. “Everyone has high-speed > > > networks these days, but how many use group video chat?,” Gundotra > asks. > > > “Not a lot.” He notes that while there are technical challenges, and > some > > > cost money, the biggest problem is that it’s socially awkward to video > chat > > > with someone. The Google+ team set out to fix this by thinking about > > > neighbors sitting out on porches. If your neighbor is sitting there, > you > > > know that they’ll likely be interested in striking up a conversation. > In > > > fact, it would be rude for you to walk by and not say anything. > > > > > With that in mind, Google+ Hangout attempts to solve the social problem > of > > > video chat by making it easy for you to let others know that you’re > > > interested in chatting. And if you’re already chatting with a Circle, > > > everyone else in that Circle will get an alert to come hang out. This > works > > > for up to 10 people. And seeing it in action is a bit magical. Gundotra > > > starts a Hangout with some co-workers and as they join, conversations > start > > > between multiple people. But the Google+ system is smart enough to > focus on > > > who is controlling the conversation in any given minute. This makes the > > > conversation easy to watch. It was almost as if an editor is working > behind > > > the scenes, cutting between people. > > > > > Even cooler is that you can share a piece of content, like a YouTube > clip, > > > and everyone in the Hangout can watch it together while talking about > it. It > > > sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s really pretty great. > > > > > After the rundown of all of these features, Google+ may sound a bit > > > convoluted. But the key to the project is the attempt to unify > everything. > > > This is done via the toolbar (which features a drop-down showing you > all of > > > your relevant Google+ activity), but also on the mobile apps (again, > Android > > > and iPhone), and, of course, on the web. The Google+ site is the main > stream > > > on which you’ll find everything. From here, you can easily switch > between > > > all of your Circles, share content with any of them, start a Hangout, > look > > > up Sparks, etc. > > > > > All of the information flowing through the system does so in real time. > As > > > something is shared with you, it appears at the top of your stream. > It’s a > > > bit like FriendFeed, in this regard (which I love). > > > > > You’ll also find a link to your Google+ Profile, which will replace > your > > > old Google Profile if you have Google+ enabled. On this profile you’ll > find > > > not only a stream of everything you’ve shared across Google+, but also > your > > > +1 content. That’s likely important. While there has been plenty of > > > speculation (by myself and others< > http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/10/see-you-in-another-life-brother/>) > > > that the +1 Button is already a dud, the larger picture is still a bit > > > hidden. While Gundotra and Horowitz declined to specifically talk about > it > > > too much, you’ll see a +1 button on all Google+ content — the +1 Button > > > clearly ties deeply into all of this. It is going to be their Facebook > > > “Like” button > > > > ... > > > > read more » > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Unique Geek" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Unique Geek" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en.
