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39 Things You Should Know About Google+

Google's latest attempt at social

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This isn’t every single thing there is to know about Google+. That could probably be a book rather than an article, and the Google+ Project has only just begun. If Google has its way, it will live on for years. Or it could go the Google Wave route. It’s just too early to tell.

Do you think Google+ will succeed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

While we’ll no doubt learn plenty more about Google+ as time goes on, here are some quick nuggets to get you a little more acquainted with it.

1. Google+ is currently available on an invitation-only basis.

2. Google does not consider it a Facebook competitor (at least publicly).

3. Google+ is currently available for download as an app in the Android Market.

4. When you download that app, it splits off the “Huddle” feature as a separate app.

5. Users can post status updates, and these appear on the Google Profile under a tab called “Posts”. The +1′s and Buzz tabs remain separate. I have to wonder if we’ll see Buzz and Posts merge eventually.

6. What is available now is “just the beginning” according to Google. These are just the first features or presumably many more to come.

7. Circles is one current feature. It lets you share things with different people (kind of like Facebook Groups) but with a very different user interface. Watch this video:

8. Another feature is Sparks. This looks for videos and articles it thinks you’ll like, so “when you’re free, there’s always something to watch, read, and share.” Filter Bubble anyone?

9. Hangouts is another feature. It’s basically group video chat. Google describes it as “the unplanned meet-up.”

10. Instant uploads is a mobile-specific feature. Photos upload themselves as you take them, and are stored in a private area on the cloud.

11. Huddle is another group-conversation feature for mobile. Essentially, it’s group chat.

The Stream

12. The stream is basically the equivalent of the Facebook news feed.

13. When you share something with Google+ it’s added to your stream and the stream of everyone you shared with.

14. The stream shows you what all of your Circles have shared with you.

15. If you mention a user, using the “+” or “@” symbols, the person may receive a notification that you mentioned them.

16. You can see who specific posts were shared with in the stream – whether they were shared publicly, to extended circles, or a limited group.

17. You can filter the stream by specific Circles.

18. You can chat directly in the stream

19. You can report inappropriate content.

20. You can search for people from the search box at the top of the stream.

21. Soon, Google says you’ll be able to search the stream itself from the search box.

22. If you leave comments on a post, you can edit or delete them.

23. The same goes for posts, but you can’t edit a post’s sharing settings after the post has been shared. However, you can delete the post and share again to different circles.

24. You can “reshare” posts made by others (like retweeting).

25. You can “mute” a post. This will let you stop receiving updates from a post, like if the comments get out of control for example.

The Google Social Network

26. You can use the “Google+ Bar” that appears at the top of various Google products as your connection to the social network.

27. When you’re signed in you’ll see your full name or email address displayed with a photo or avatar next to it, to help you identify which account you’re currently signed in to.

28. If you’ve enabled multi sign-in you can sign in to two different Google accounts and switch between them using the Google+ bar.

29. When you sign up for Google+, you’re also signing up for Picasa Web Albums, so all photos and videos uploaded to Google+ (including from your phone via Instant Upload) will also be available in Picasa Web Albums.

30. You can use the Google +1 button from the stream.

31. You can have a ton of friends on Google+. Robert Scoble quickly added over 1,000.

32. The central user interface is very Facebook-esque.

33. Google+ quickly became the butt of a lot of jokes (and even cartoons), but has also received a great deal of praise thus far.

34. With Google+ Google adds a “You” link to the recently redesigned (painted black) navigation bar across Google properties

35. You can view public Google+ content without actually being invited (Danny Sullivan has a guide on how to view it )

36. China is already blocking Google+. That didn’t take long.

37. Invitations have been listed on eBay.

38. There are already privacy concerns about Google+ but the Privacy Guide can be found here.

39. According to the Financial Times article, you can share something within a closed “Circle,” but somone from that circle can then reshare it with anyone, and even make it public.

Is Google+ destined to bring real competition to Facebook or will the hype fade? Share your thoughts.

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There are 98 Comments. Add Yours.
  1. I completely agree with the above comment, the internet is without a doubt growing into the most important medium of communication across the globe and its due to sites like this that ideas are spreading so quickly.
    http://www.facebook.com/africanmangoesextract

  2. #39 is wrong. You can set a post to disable resharing. At the point of sharing or resharing you have options to narrow it down from public to “Your Circles” to individual circles. That’s when you can also deal with resharing.

    As for “will it succeed”…what exactly does that mean? Will it kill Facebook? No more than Facebook actually killed MySpace…there are still people who prefer MySpace and won’t get on Facebook regardless what features are added. I think that based on the response from a very small subset of people, tech geeks within the industry, it’s promising, but we are a generally poor test for such things.

  3. Vic

    No, it won’t succeed. Why would I need Google + when there is Facebook and all my friends are there? It’s like starting another ebay, it will fail. Why Google videos when there is famous Youtube? Myspace exodus to FB was the exception because they didn’t know how to run that thing. The old, fat belly, beer drinking, corporate news guys ran it into the ground.

    Soon nobody will talk about Google + and Google will call it quits. Google might be able to win at social by maybe offering $100 for each user that signs up, verified. I just don’t see them succeeding.

  4. Most people don’t want to be logged in when searching. They want privacy and they don’t want Google deciding what results they should see.

    Having said that I have placed +1 buttons on all my site pages but how stupid will I look when no-one clicks them? I see no way of encouraging people to click +1 unless Google somehow does away with the need to be logged in.

  5. Thanks for identifying and sharing some of the important components of Google+. I have often wondered why Google has not combined their great apps into one user friendly dashboard. They could have easily owned most any space on the net had they decided to that earlier–they still may have time — but catching up is much harder.

  6. Hello!
    Frankly, I think even a few days that button but I have not decided. I do not know if the home is worth, or sitemap.

  7. Jennifer

    Not sure how this will play out, but we all know Google has the resources $$ for this huge project. What’s the deal, by invitation only? By who, google or someone already using Google+? I may give it a try, when I get access.

  8. Enjoy getting up to date on your site!

  9. great info as always thanks for sharing

  10. How Google Could Ultimately Squash Facebook

    Google needs to provide social users in all demographics an untapped wealth of information that is literally right under their feet!
    Here’s how.

    1) Leverage Google Street View assets by shooting memorial parks; head stone, crypts, markers and so on. ( Many parks have client software so this could be used as well for data integration.

    2) Leverage Google Goggles to read the text on same and auto tag.

    3) Make this new app. searchable; any ONLY accessible over Google Plus.

    4) Let people tag these images as well.

    5) Give is a cool name like ‘Google Generations’.

    6) Let people use this to make connections like Ancestery.com ( but better ).

    7) Now Google can have ( Google Ancestor Circles ). Users can use this feature to do some quasi – genealogy.

    8) On an off-note or more playful use… maybe allow users to create a virtual head stone with their name and epitaph over top any image they want (Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Route 66…) Maybe even create a message linked to this that does not reveal itself until a future date set by the user; e.g.- timekapsule.com.

    Dear Google, If you do decide to use MY idea… please dont’ be evil. Call me stupid, but this could be a real-deal Facebook killer.
    Rick Vidallon ~ posted July 1, 2011

  11. Stu

    One very important item you missed – anyone can use Google search, Google Earth, Google maps without signing up for anything – although they may have to burp up an email address (same as for this comment).
    and as for social networking they could still pick up the phone or even just send an email or text.
    Personally I think a lot of people have lost their minds and have no idea how to be alive anymore.
    and yes I do realize that making a commment could be considered a form of social networking but what the heck – this could be my worst bad habit.

  12. Let me look into my crystal ball (not really seeing the future just a look at the past).

    I see an amazing piece of technology that can do things people have never seen before.. That Google will fail to explain, promote and make intuitive to use. Quietly joining the long list of other technological miracles found as you click on more>even more on the Google website.

  13. Janet

    Participation by invitation was a stroke of genius. People in a tech group I belong to have been obsessed with getting invited. Perhaps an indication that Google + will be successful with people who are hooked on Google docs, profiles, etc.

  14. Of course Google+ will succeed. Even if only a small number of their users go for it it will still add to their success. It seems that the talking heads want to create rivals out of Google and Facebook when it is really not needed. There are enough users in the world of the internet to support 10 more Googles and Facebooks. Why not convince them to improve and just do even better. There is no doubt the both companies have a nice foothold in the market and there is no chance that one will trump the other.

  15. Yes, I absolutely think The Google+ Project will rival if not overtake Facebook. I am curious to know and will monitor how G+ intends to monetize this new SMM platform?

  16. Yes, of course Google+ will succeed. They are the best at everything.

  17. Another important thing for Google+ offering is that it has a very good settings for privacy…I think that this is the thing that will separate facebook and google+ one and for all!

  18. If and when I get an invitation to Google+ I will be in a position to comment. As I haven’t, obviously I can have no opinion.

  19. Somewhere, someone is working on an Un-Facebook, instead of trying to copy it. I hope They are successful.

  20. Banatu

    Who cares. Anyone stupid enough to willingly give all their data to these companies deserves what they get.

    THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PRIVACY ONLINE OR IN THE CLOUD.

    Google = NSA (google it!)

    “Social networks” are nothing more than social manipulation tools. Wake up. Grow up. Think for yourself.

    ~V~

  21. More social media nonsense that has to be dealt with. Trying to put all this crap on a website slows down the load time. All it’s doing is clogging up the internet with endless amounts of useless information. If your social life is on Facebook then you don’t have a life.

  22. I certainly believe the Google +1 will succeed. Everything else Google has implemented has been a huge success. I do however think it will take a while for everyone to catch on to what it is and begin using it regularly but sooner or later, it could surely become second nature for everyone to start using it.

    Thanks for the info!

    Sabrina

  23. I added Google +1 button on my site, but confused about its success.

  24. Hey Chris,

    Interesting question, especially since we all know that some Google “projects” have been known to fizzle out (bomb is too harsh a term) way before many of us expected.

    It seems to me that the company Google is involved with so many different projects (don’t get me wrong, many of these projects are very worthwhile, e.g. clean energy, green technology, Google car, etc.) that the investment of time, devotion, and other resources required to launch a sure winner on the Social Network scene may not have been enough in the past.

    For many years Facebook was just the Facebook social network. That was it! There were no other distractions, although recent steps taken by the company departed from that model. The long and short of it is, I’d like to see the Google+ project succeed, but whether it will or not is a toss-up. Thanks for an interesting topic!

    TPJ-

  25. Надеюсь в этой соцсети можно будет найти большое колличество единомышленников. Надеюсь этот проект будет достойным конкурентом Facebook.

  26. Kate Lennon

    This sounds as bad as Google’s previous (failed) attempts at breaking into the social network market. It’s extraordinary, really, the way the all-powerful Google, can’t come up with a viable alternative to facebook (itself glitch-prone and poorly-designed).
    It seems to me that Google is trying too hard. Facebook is successful because users can post comments (and videos etc), and other users can post responses. That’s it. The rest is “filler”. Google, for all it’s savvy in other areas, doesn’t seem to have grasped this simple fact. (Nor does Ning and several other “private” social platforms.)
    And what is this “by invitation only” crap. That’s sooo 2005. Are we supposed to believe that Google has so many people queuing up to join its new social network that it can afford to be selective?

  27. Enough with this social networks, theres nothing social about that, you just follow after people you havent spoken to in ages, thats the idea.

    Its exactly like being a stalker.

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