WebProNews

Google Brings Video/Voice Chat to Your Home Page

Google now has a video chat application that can be used from your iGoogle home page. This is just the latest feature Google has added to its ever-growing list of products/features that make it more like a giant social network.

Google's Latest Move as a Social Network

Last week, Google introduced social gadgets for iGoogle in Australia. Today they have made them available in the US. Well, they'll be gradually rolling out starting today, anyway. The social gadgets let users share, collaborate, and play games with their friends. There are 19 of them at this point that have been debuted today. They include things like:

iGoogle Introduces Social Gadgets

It looks like the term "iGoogle" is about to grow a little less apt.  Starting this week, social gadgets will debut for iGoogle, allowing and encouraging some users to connect and interact with each other. Initially, people in Australia are the only ones who will gain access to the new gadgets.  There are twelve of them (more should come out later), and they provide gateways to things including News.com.au, YouTube, GoComics, and chess.

Comic-Con Booths Lure Fans Via Twitter

All of geekdom has descended upon the city of San Diego, California for Comic-Con 2009. The four-day event, which showcases everything from action figures to theatrical coming attractions, is the highlight of the year for many fanboys. Are you attending Comic-Con today? Let us know.

Google Photography Prize Winner Declared

It's been almost seven weeks since we first covered the Google Photography Prize contest, and now a winner's been declared.  A jury of artists and art critics selected the iGoogle theme created by Daniel Halasz.

iGoogle For Android And iPhone Leaps Ahead

Accessing the Internet from a mobile device can be a frustrating experience; small screens, slow speeds, and "streamlined" (meaning stripped) interfaces often make people feel like they're missing out.  But a certain Mountain View-based search giant is trying to fix all that with a new, beta version of iGoogle.

Could Celebrities Drum Up Mass iGoogle Interest?

Google has introduced the iGoogle showcase, which is a gallery of celebrity iGoogle pages for you to peruse, and if you like one well enough, emulate theirs for your own. I suspect this is a way to generate more interest in the use of iGoogle (it certainly worked for Twitter).

Integration - The Key to Google as a Social Network

Google has or is working on pretty much all of the main ingredients for a really great social network. The problem (in my opinion) is that they are scattered and not integrated as well as they could be. Do you particiapte in any of Google's social projects? Tell us which ones. Gmail

Google Has Digg on the Brain

Google has released a gadget called What's Popular for iGoogle. You may draw some connections between it and a certain site called Digg, and some are speculating that it is even an indication of a broader plan from Google to creep into Digg territory.

Google Launches Gadget for Insights for Search

Google has introduced an iGoogle gadget for Insights for Search. It displays the top rising searches and top related searches on your Google home page. Users can change the settings to show results for a specific location, keyword, category, or source.