Now that I just spent all of that time talking about Facebook, Google announces their next big attempt at being social. They call it Google+. I think it is kind of a crappy name. But, that's just my opinion. Google hasn't exactly been the people that you look towards when you think about social interaction. But, this endeavor might gain some traction. First of all Android has become a huge platform on mobile phones and even starting a little bit with tablets. So, if people are already carrying around a Google powered device, Google+ may just meld really well with their handset. Google is just releasing this as a limited beta. Just like they did with Google Music (which we can talk about in a later post). There is a video and a website to check out to get a little glimpse of what they are thinking.
A couple of my favorite features are when you take a picture on your phone it is uploaded to your Google+ profile on the web. Once there you can decide how you want to share it. I think that this might be better than the Facebook process right now. It takes away the process of going to Facebook, then to the photo tab, then choose upload photo, and then searching and picking what you want to upload. With Google+, it's already there!
The other feature that looks really interesting is when you go into your friend feed you can change a setting so that you can just see the info of your friends that are in the same area as you. I have wondered sometimes if I was ever within a block of someone that I knew and never realized it. Now, people may be able to find their friends around lunch time and maybe have a bite together.
I am sure there are a ton more features that we just don't know about yet. I can't see this replacing Facebook any time in the near future but, it may be something to throw on your phone and see what it adds to your life. I have signed up to try this out when they are ready to move to the next phase of the release. So, I will definitley try it out and write about it here. How about you? Is this something that you will try? Are you looking for a Facebook replacement? Could this be a big win for Google or another product that just doesn't quite make it?
Watch this video and let me know what you think.
Have fun and be social!
Brian
I LOVE the idea of meeting up with someone that's near you... and you just may not know it! Fun!
ReplyDeleteI think it may be fun too! Especially if you are at a big event in your town, you could see if your friends are there too! Then buy them a beer;)
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