I came across a new Google+ YouTube video recently and was reminded of a cool feature; while not necessarily new I still thought I would bring it to your attention and also share the video as it’s pretty heart warming.
As shown in the video, you have the opportunity to instantly upload any pictures you take with your mobile phone. As soon as you snap a shot it is sent to an album of your choice on your Google+ profile. Users might be concerned that sensitive pictures (like baby photos as shown in the video) are exposed to the public but you have the ability to change privacy settings and then later re-allocate the pictures to albums of your choice. This allows your pictures to be stored safe and securely even if you lose the device they were taken on, pretty neat right?
Google have teamed their product Google Places with Zagat to create Google+ Local, a simple and efficient way to share and discover local knowledge using reviews and maps. Let’s say I had just arrived in New York and stepped outside my hotel wanting to try a pizzeria, using Google+ Local and a quick search of “pizzeria” I am presented with all the pizza establishments close to my current location along with reviews for each one. Thankfully this service is not restricted to mobile devices and is accessible via the desktop version of Google+ here, useful if you are planning to visit a location and want to check out reviews on businesses before you get there as you can set a location of your choice when carrying out a search.
So where do these reviews come from? The short answer is you. The internet is now saturated with review websites allowing the public to see what others think of a product, service or place before trying it out for themselves; the amazing thing is that this has become an online culture and people are willing to leave reviews for free generally without incentives. This is where Zagat comes in, using previous reviews left on the website before this partnership Google+ Local already has a database to offer to it’s users without having to frantically encourage it’s members to start leaving their own reviews. A scale system 0f 0 to 3 is used across different categories depending on what type of business is being reviewed (Atmosphere in a restaurant for example) and then multiplied by 10 to gain averages when compared against many reviewers scores. Upon completion of the review you are also given the opportunity to share it on Google+ to circles of your choice, an excellent (or negative) promotional feature for the business in question. I am just curious to what has happened to the original Google Places 5 star reviews…
Zagat's simple review system.
So after reading this I imagine a lot of you are quietly thinking, “Well this just sounds like a clone of Foursquare with an achievement system missing”. I am a loyal Google+ user but I would have to agree with you, I can’t see much difference apart from the fact that Google+ is a much larger medium to share information with and Google Places was already well established. I can’t see myself moving from Foursquare to Google+ Local due to the perk system offered by the former, perhaps Google will encourage their Google Places for Business users to start offering coupons or vouchers of some sort. Will you guys be using this new update?
Not too much has been happening in the world of Google+ recently but on Tuesday (April 24th) Google’s developers introduced a Google+ Share button. The basic idea is that while browsing content around the web you have the ability to share content to your Google+ stream without having to leave a +1 on the site. The idea might seem a pointless practice at first glance but Google (as always) have their reasons for the feature. Let’s say you were reading a controversial article about negative war practices for example, you wanted to share the article with your circles but at the same time did not wish to appear insensitive on the topic by giving a +1, the Share button gives you an opportunity to do this.
What is your opinion on the new button?
There have been a few Google+ users who are sceptical about the feature either claiming that it’s functionality isn’t different enough to have it’s own button separate to the standard +1 or that introducing an additional button will cause poor interface usability experiences. Cihan Demiral commented on the official Google+ Developer post the following -
“All right, let me get this straight: When you click on the +1 button, it lets you share via a pop-up — now we’ve got another button that only lets you share content, sans +1-ing it. Correct? Fantastic. You could’ve made it so upon clicking a +1 button, it would give you the usual sharing pop-up, but there could be a +1 button right next to that green ‘Share’ button; that +1 button I proposed would also function as ‘Close’ — ‘+1 and close this pop-up’. Boom, ~5kb less js on every page on the internet and, more importantly, less confusion about the functionality of G+. But no, it would be too simple. You’re right. Congrats.”
A discussion also took place in the official AdWords community on whether introducing the button would create too much clutter within threads - http://www.en.adwords-community.com/t5/Community-lounge/The-new-G-Share-Button/m-p/18617
I think it will be interesting to see whether websites make use of the Share button or simply leave it alone, what are your opinions on it?
Hey everyone, I thought I would freshen up the blog a little by introducing a guest poster. There is an amusing yet interesting trend on Google+ at the moment so I happened to stumble upon a great post by Spencer Cartwright who has kindly agreed to write about the topic:
“Yesterday (11th April) 204 days since Google+ opened its doors to the general public, the coolest social network received its first major makeover. The reaction has been very postive and it is clear that Google has been listening to its users. The new look Google+ interface boosts a customisable toolbar (Ribbon), a reformated comments and post interation area, a bigger emphasis on multimedia in posts and a general tidying up of the screen. However, one issue that dominated discussions yesterday was the increase in unused screen space, dubbed whitespace. So much chatter was generated that the #usesofwhitespace and #useofwhitespace hastags rapidly climbed into the top five trending topics for Google+. The whitespace is a result of the main conversation feed (Stream) has been moved over to the left which means if you’re viewing Google+ on a widescreen monitor (and who isn’t these days?) you have almost half your screen unused. To be fair, when you’re at the top of your Stream, there are useful elements such as the list of trending topics and contact suggestions. This has prompted many innovative suggestions for the bright white area of your screen. Many posts have appeared with people using it to illuminate x-rays, to rest their iPad against and to hang strips of bacon from (I kid you not!).
However, in the meantime, I would like to suggest some more practical uses for this space So here are my five top ideas for what they’re thinking: 1) Dockable window/pop-out for Hangouts - How cool will it be to have video chat going on while monitoring the Stream? 2) The return of YouTube - The YouTube player tab is no more, but the whitespace gives a great area for it to return to. 3) Custom Stream/Search - The ability to set up a second stream based on a custom search. You could keep your eye on a trending topic while still following the general conversations. 4) Widget area - As Google services become more integrated, the space could accomodate your stocks and weather widgets, your gmail notifications and Google Calendar. Think about how an iGoogle homepage looks. 5) Split pane - Have the stream on the left and the ability to open your Circles screen, photos or a game in the right hand area. True social media multitasking. It would be awesome to have your photos open on the right and then drag them directly into the Stream to create a new post. I can guarantee that those clever people at Google have already got ideas of what they’re are going to do with this space. All the designers will be working on widescreen monitors and they all know about good design. So there is no way the unused screen area hasn’t gone unnoticed. We are just going to have to be patient and wait and see. One final thought, this whitespace has arisen because of an efficient design by the Google team. To have all this functionality at our fingertips, for it to be intuitive and still have room to spare on the screen, I think is a testament to the skill of the Google+ team.”
Spencer Cartwright is an educator with a passion for the use of technology in the classroom. You can follow him on Google+ via his personal profile (bitly.com/spencermc) or his ICT blog (bitly.com/spenceict), on Twitter (@spenceict) or on his website www.spenceict.co.uk
April 12th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
When was the last time you saw a Facebook commercial while watching your television at home? I’m not sure whether it’s the same case outside of the United Kingdom but I’m fairly confident there has never been one aired here. The same goes for that of MySpace, Twitter and all the other mainstream social networks; yet to my surprise a commercial about Google+ appeared on my TV screen during an ad break this weekend, something unexpected in the social networking world as surely the best form of marketing would be… social.
So the main question that springs to mind is: Why? Why are Google pushing their new social network on British television? I imagine the initial reaction made by Facebook supporters and many other bloggers will be, “IT’S BECAUSE GOOGLE+ IS A FAILURE!” But I don’t believe this is the case. In the past we have discussed Google+’s initial growth in comparison to other social networks so I don’t think this is the concern, Obi Felten (Google’s EMEA director of consumer marketing) touched upon one of the reasons being that they wanted to rekindle the interest of original beta users who have missed out on all the updates released since June last year.
The commercial involves a touching life story of how one man progresses through family life as Google+ is used to record the most significant moments. Obi commented: “We realised we needed to drive awareness and show how Google+ is relevant and meaningful to people’s lives as it’s not easy to understand in one sentence – the best way to educate people about a product is to demonstrate it.” I was sceptical when first seeing the commercial but Obi’s comment clarified the need for a television ad; when trying to explain what Google+ is to people I always recommended that they check out the interactive demo for themselves, allowing the public to see it used first hand on their own television screens is probably one of the best ways to generate awareness for the product. I wouldn’t say this is a survival attempt by Google but instead an effort to push forward further, while still being around 750 million users behind Facebook we must remember that the social network is incredibly young and is growing at an exceptionally fast rate despite this.
March 14th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
Google+ Hangouts have had a lot of focus recently with regards to changes and updates being made to the exclusive Google+ feature. The most recent should be an asset to both businesses and regular users alike as another product is merged onto the social network. Google Docs is now accessible from within a hangout allowing users to share and edit files while being able to discuss them face to face at the same time. It is amazing that such a useful tool is being provided as a free service, one that could revolutionise online conference calls where business people originally would have to all open their individual copies of files and try to follow along in sync. The main features include:
The ability to either create a brand new document from scratch (ideal for brainstorming) or to open an existing document from your profile to share with others.
Easily switch between multiple documents at once meaning that comparisons can be made rather than being restricted to one document at a time.
The feature is placed within a collapsible sidebar meaning that there is plenty of room to edit the document while still keeping the principle Hangout features.
There is already (unsurprisingly) plenty of support from the Google+ community for this new update, I could definitely foresee businesses making the transition to Google’s social network purely for the free functionality of this new feature.
February 27th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
In the middle of September I created a post discussing how the three political leaders of the UK (David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg) had joined Google+ in order to build on their media presence. Google’s social network was new and fairly unknown at the time making it surprising that these individuals (or the public relation people behind them) recognised the future value in creating Google+ profiles.
Both Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have maintained updated profiles which allow the public to actively interact with their posts and media published. This gives the political leaders some sort of indication on what the Google+ community think of their thoughts and actions making it an excellent testing ground when used correctly. David Cameron’s last update was at the beginning of October making it clear that he (or his PR) were quick to give up on the social network; yet it’s interesting to note that he is still in more people’s circles than the other two party leaders, perhaps this proves that it’s worth having the Google+ presence regardless of whether a celebrity of influential figure is going to keep their profile updated. David Cameron can always return to that profile at a key time to promote himself and essentially target almost 140,000 people at the touch of a button.
By now you have most likely seen different famous icons from around the world join the ever growing social network but to keep relative to the subject I want to bring it to attention that Labour’s London mayoral candidate, Ken Livingstone, has joined Google+. The account has only recently been created so it will be interesting to monitor how the profile is used from a candidate’s perspective, what sort of success will be gained and whether it can have an impact during and leading up to the election period. These factors will depend on how effective Ken Livingstone manages the profile and whether he fully utilises Google+’s excellent features to interact directly with the British public, we have already seen Barack Obama address his nation live using Google+ Hangouts and constantly reach out to the public via posts.
February 15th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
While not strictly Google+ related I thought this excellent news definitely needed a mention. Over the last month I was given the great privilege and opportunity of creating “AdWords Wiki” articles in preparation to contribute them to the new Google AdWords community. This brand new site was released today and I suggest that all AdWords users (both new and old) check it out as it’s an excellent source of information. The AdWords Pros, Top Contributors and regular users from the original AdWords Help forum will be at the heart of this new community ensuring that knowledge is shared and all questions are answered concerning Adwords.
I hope you visit the new site and like what you see, it’s always good to meet new users and to help out with your AdWords related questions!
January 30th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
Times have quickly changed and Google are now enabling teenagers as young as 13 to also join the ever growing social network. There are obviously always concerns about younger ones being exposed to the social world of the internet but this update has been released along with the introduction of additional security features that will help keep both younger and older users’ privacy protected. Some of these features include:
Sharing content - Teens will now be encouraged to consider their sharing decision when attempting to post outside of their circles, I imagine this will be in the form of some popup prompt asking the user whether they really want to do share the content to such a wide audience.
Hanging out with friends - This one might prove frustrating for some users but basically whenever a stranger joins a hangout from outside a teen’s circles then that teen will be temporarily removed from the hangout in an attempt to protect their identity. It’s not ideal for the teen getting kicked out of a flowing conversation every time someone joins but I imagine many of you parents reading this wouldn’t be too happy with strangers seeing your child on a webcam either.
Receiving notifications - Currently people outside your circles have the opportunity to communicate with you (unless your adjust your privacy settings). Teenagers by default will only be approachable by users who are already within their circles.
While not the most advanced of security features it’s still good to see that Google are taking some sort of action to protect younger users online, you have most likely heard at least one horrible story which was caused by strangers targeting children via social networks so this is definitely a serious issue to address. If you want to find out more about keeping yourself or your child protected then I suggest you check out Bradly Horowitz’s post regarding the changes and also the Google+ Safety Centre itself.
Okay, so the video may have confused you a little but Your World is basically a social twist on the search results provided by Google. Enabling the “personalised” view of search results allows data from Google+ to be inserted into the list giving you an insight on how your friends / contacts are related to particular search terms.
Searching “Liverpool football club” for example might show me a number of “personal results” alongside the standard search results; these may include pictures from albums, videos that have been shared or simply posts belonging to people within my Google+ circles. There is also the chance that Google+ profiles and pages are included within these personalised search results if they have a strong enough relation to what is being search for at the time, Liverpool football player profiles might be show in “Liverpool football club” search for example. This might seem a novelty feature but imagine searching for a product or holiday destination you are interested in and then realising your contacts already have experience with it, you then have the ability to browse their pictures and comments to assist you in making a decision while also having the potential to open a dialogue with one of those contacts.
There are already privacy concerns with regards to personal photos being displayed on Google’s search engine but I am confident that this is something Google will address after the history of privacy scandals we have seen other social networks face (book) in the past. People are also stating that this is something they don’t want to see during their standard usage of Google’s search network but this is no problem as users can simply select whether they want it included or not via a click of a button.
For those of you interested in Your World and Google+ then I would suggest checking out the following link for now - http://www.google.com/insidesearch/plus.html
I came across a new Google+ YouTube video recently and was reminded of a cool feature; while not necessarily new I still thought I would bring it to your attention and also share the video as it’s pretty heart warming.
As shown in the video, you have the opportunity to instantly upload any pictures you take with your mobile phone. As soon as you snap a shot it is sent to an album of your choice on your Google+ profile. Users might be concerned that sensitive pictures (like baby photos as shown in the video) are exposed to the public but you have the ability to change privacy settings and then later re-allocate the pictures to albums of your choice. This allows your pictures to be stored safe and securely even if you lose the device they were taken on, pretty neat right?
Google have teamed their product Google Places with Zagat to create Google+ Local, a simple and efficient way to share and discover local knowledge using reviews and maps. Let’s say I had just arrived in New York and stepped outside my hotel wanting to try a pizzeria, using Google+ Local and a quick search of “pizzeria” I am presented with all the pizza establishments close to my current location along with reviews for each one. Thankfully this service is not restricted to mobile devices and is accessible via the desktop version of Google+ here, useful if you are planning to visit a location and want to check out reviews on businesses before you get there as you can set a location of your choice when carrying out a search.
So where do these reviews come from? The short answer is you. The internet is now saturated with review websites allowing the public to see what others think of a product, service or place before trying it out for themselves; the amazing thing is that this has become an online culture and people are willing to leave reviews for free generally without incentives. This is where Zagat comes in, using previous reviews left on the website before this partnership Google+ Local already has a database to offer to it’s users without having to frantically encourage it’s members to start leaving their own reviews. A scale system 0f 0 to 3 is used across different categories depending on what type of business is being reviewed (Atmosphere in a restaurant for example) and then multiplied by 10 to gain averages when compared against many reviewers scores. Upon completion of the review you are also given the opportunity to share it on Google+ to circles of your choice, an excellent (or negative) promotional feature for the business in question. I am just curious to what has happened to the original Google Places 5 star reviews…
Zagat's simple review system.
So after reading this I imagine a lot of you are quietly thinking, “Well this just sounds like a clone of Foursquare with an achievement system missing”. I am a loyal Google+ user but I would have to agree with you, I can’t see much difference apart from the fact that Google+ is a much larger medium to share information with and Google Places was already well established. I can’t see myself moving from Foursquare to Google+ Local due to the perk system offered by the former, perhaps Google will encourage their Google Places for Business users to start offering coupons or vouchers of some sort. Will you guys be using this new update?
Not too much has been happening in the world of Google+ recently but on Tuesday (April 24th) Google’s developers introduced a Google+ Share button. The basic idea is that while browsing content around the web you have the ability to share content to your Google+ stream without having to leave a +1 on the site. The idea might seem a pointless practice at first glance but Google (as always) have their reasons for the feature. Let’s say you were reading a controversial article about negative war practices for example, you wanted to share the article with your circles but at the same time did not wish to appear insensitive on the topic by giving a +1, the Share button gives you an opportunity to do this.
What is your opinion on the new button?
There have been a few Google+ users who are sceptical about the feature either claiming that it’s functionality isn’t different enough to have it’s own button separate to the standard +1 or that introducing an additional button will cause poor interface usability experiences. Cihan Demiral commented on the official Google+ Developer post the following -
“All right, let me get this straight: When you click on the +1 button, it lets you share via a pop-up — now we’ve got another button that only lets you share content, sans +1-ing it. Correct? Fantastic. You could’ve made it so upon clicking a +1 button, it would give you the usual sharing pop-up, but there could be a +1 button right next to that green ‘Share’ button; that +1 button I proposed would also function as ‘Close’ — ‘+1 and close this pop-up’. Boom, ~5kb less js on every page on the internet and, more importantly, less confusion about the functionality of G+. But no, it would be too simple. You’re right. Congrats.”
A discussion also took place in the official AdWords community on whether introducing the button would create too much clutter within threads - http://www.en.adwords-community.com/t5/Community-lounge/The-new-G-Share-Button/m-p/18617
I think it will be interesting to see whether websites make use of the Share button or simply leave it alone, what are your opinions on it?
Hey everyone, I thought I would freshen up the blog a little by introducing a guest poster. There is an amusing yet interesting trend on Google+ at the moment so I happened to stumble upon a great post by Spencer Cartwright who has kindly agreed to write about the topic:
“Yesterday (11th April) 204 days since Google+ opened its doors to the general public, the coolest social network received its first major makeover. The reaction has been very postive and it is clear that Google has been listening to its users. The new look Google+ interface boosts a customisable toolbar (Ribbon), a reformated comments and post interation area, a bigger emphasis on multimedia in posts and a general tidying up of the screen. However, one issue that dominated discussions yesterday was the increase in unused screen space, dubbed whitespace. So much chatter was generated that the #usesofwhitespace and #useofwhitespace hastags rapidly climbed into the top five trending topics for Google+. The whitespace is a result of the main conversation feed (Stream) has been moved over to the left which means if you’re viewing Google+ on a widescreen monitor (and who isn’t these days?) you have almost half your screen unused. To be fair, when you’re at the top of your Stream, there are useful elements such as the list of trending topics and contact suggestions. This has prompted many innovative suggestions for the bright white area of your screen. Many posts have appeared with people using it to illuminate x-rays, to rest their iPad against and to hang strips of bacon from (I kid you not!).
However, in the meantime, I would like to suggest some more practical uses for this space So here are my five top ideas for what they’re thinking: 1) Dockable window/pop-out for Hangouts - How cool will it be to have video chat going on while monitoring the Stream? 2) The return of YouTube - The YouTube player tab is no more, but the whitespace gives a great area for it to return to. 3) Custom Stream/Search - The ability to set up a second stream based on a custom search. You could keep your eye on a trending topic while still following the general conversations. 4) Widget area - As Google services become more integrated, the space could accomodate your stocks and weather widgets, your gmail notifications and Google Calendar. Think about how an iGoogle homepage looks. 5) Split pane - Have the stream on the left and the ability to open your Circles screen, photos or a game in the right hand area. True social media multitasking. It would be awesome to have your photos open on the right and then drag them directly into the Stream to create a new post. I can guarantee that those clever people at Google have already got ideas of what they’re are going to do with this space. All the designers will be working on widescreen monitors and they all know about good design. So there is no way the unused screen area hasn’t gone unnoticed. We are just going to have to be patient and wait and see. One final thought, this whitespace has arisen because of an efficient design by the Google team. To have all this functionality at our fingertips, for it to be intuitive and still have room to spare on the screen, I think is a testament to the skill of the Google+ team.”
Spencer Cartwright is an educator with a passion for the use of technology in the classroom. You can follow him on Google+ via his personal profile (bitly.com/spencermc) or his ICT blog (bitly.com/spenceict), on Twitter (@spenceict) or on his website www.spenceict.co.uk
April 12th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
When was the last time you saw a Facebook commercial while watching your television at home? I’m not sure whether it’s the same case outside of the United Kingdom but I’m fairly confident there has never been one aired here. The same goes for that of MySpace, Twitter and all the other mainstream social networks; yet to my surprise a commercial about Google+ appeared on my TV screen during an ad break this weekend, something unexpected in the social networking world as surely the best form of marketing would be… social.
So the main question that springs to mind is: Why? Why are Google pushing their new social network on British television? I imagine the initial reaction made by Facebook supporters and many other bloggers will be, “IT’S BECAUSE GOOGLE+ IS A FAILURE!” But I don’t believe this is the case. In the past we have discussed Google+’s initial growth in comparison to other social networks so I don’t think this is the concern, Obi Felten (Google’s EMEA director of consumer marketing) touched upon one of the reasons being that they wanted to rekindle the interest of original beta users who have missed out on all the updates released since June last year.
The commercial involves a touching life story of how one man progresses through family life as Google+ is used to record the most significant moments. Obi commented: “We realised we needed to drive awareness and show how Google+ is relevant and meaningful to people’s lives as it’s not easy to understand in one sentence – the best way to educate people about a product is to demonstrate it.” I was sceptical when first seeing the commercial but Obi’s comment clarified the need for a television ad; when trying to explain what Google+ is to people I always recommended that they check out the interactive demo for themselves, allowing the public to see it used first hand on their own television screens is probably one of the best ways to generate awareness for the product. I wouldn’t say this is a survival attempt by Google but instead an effort to push forward further, while still being around 750 million users behind Facebook we must remember that the social network is incredibly young and is growing at an exceptionally fast rate despite this.
March 14th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
Google+ Hangouts have had a lot of focus recently with regards to changes and updates being made to the exclusive Google+ feature. The most recent should be an asset to both businesses and regular users alike as another product is merged onto the social network. Google Docs is now accessible from within a hangout allowing users to share and edit files while being able to discuss them face to face at the same time. It is amazing that such a useful tool is being provided as a free service, one that could revolutionise online conference calls where business people originally would have to all open their individual copies of files and try to follow along in sync. The main features include:
The ability to either create a brand new document from scratch (ideal for brainstorming) or to open an existing document from your profile to share with others.
Easily switch between multiple documents at once meaning that comparisons can be made rather than being restricted to one document at a time.
The feature is placed within a collapsible sidebar meaning that there is plenty of room to edit the document while still keeping the principle Hangout features.
There is already (unsurprisingly) plenty of support from the Google+ community for this new update, I could definitely foresee businesses making the transition to Google’s social network purely for the free functionality of this new feature.
February 27th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
In the middle of September I created a post discussing how the three political leaders of the UK (David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg) had joined Google+ in order to build on their media presence. Google’s social network was new and fairly unknown at the time making it surprising that these individuals (or the public relation people behind them) recognised the future value in creating Google+ profiles.
Both Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have maintained updated profiles which allow the public to actively interact with their posts and media published. This gives the political leaders some sort of indication on what the Google+ community think of their thoughts and actions making it an excellent testing ground when used correctly. David Cameron’s last update was at the beginning of October making it clear that he (or his PR) were quick to give up on the social network; yet it’s interesting to note that he is still in more people’s circles than the other two party leaders, perhaps this proves that it’s worth having the Google+ presence regardless of whether a celebrity of influential figure is going to keep their profile updated. David Cameron can always return to that profile at a key time to promote himself and essentially target almost 140,000 people at the touch of a button.
By now you have most likely seen different famous icons from around the world join the ever growing social network but to keep relative to the subject I want to bring it to attention that Labour’s London mayoral candidate, Ken Livingstone, has joined Google+. The account has only recently been created so it will be interesting to monitor how the profile is used from a candidate’s perspective, what sort of success will be gained and whether it can have an impact during and leading up to the election period. These factors will depend on how effective Ken Livingstone manages the profile and whether he fully utilises Google+’s excellent features to interact directly with the British public, we have already seen Barack Obama address his nation live using Google+ Hangouts and constantly reach out to the public via posts.
February 15th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
While not strictly Google+ related I thought this excellent news definitely needed a mention. Over the last month I was given the great privilege and opportunity of creating “AdWords Wiki” articles in preparation to contribute them to the new Google AdWords community. This brand new site was released today and I suggest that all AdWords users (both new and old) check it out as it’s an excellent source of information. The AdWords Pros, Top Contributors and regular users from the original AdWords Help forum will be at the heart of this new community ensuring that knowledge is shared and all questions are answered concerning Adwords.
I hope you visit the new site and like what you see, it’s always good to meet new users and to help out with your AdWords related questions!
January 30th, 2012 by Scott Dunroe | Permalink
Times have quickly changed and Google are now enabling teenagers as young as 13 to also join the ever growing social network. There are obviously always concerns about younger ones being exposed to the social world of the internet but this update has been released along with the introduction of additional security features that will help keep both younger and older users’ privacy protected. Some of these features include:
Sharing content - Teens will now be encouraged to consider their sharing decision when attempting to post outside of their circles, I imagine this will be in the form of some popup prompt asking the user whether they really want to do share the content to such a wide audience.
Hanging out with friends - This one might prove frustrating for some users but basically whenever a stranger joins a hangout from outside a teen’s circles then that teen will be temporarily removed from the hangout in an attempt to protect their identity. It’s not ideal for the teen getting kicked out of a flowing conversation every time someone joins but I imagine many of you parents reading this wouldn’t be too happy with strangers seeing your child on a webcam either.
Receiving notifications - Currently people outside your circles have the opportunity to communicate with you (unless your adjust your privacy settings). Teenagers by default will only be approachable by users who are already within their circles.
While not the most advanced of security features it’s still good to see that Google are taking some sort of action to protect younger users online, you have most likely heard at least one horrible story which was caused by strangers targeting children via social networks so this is definitely a serious issue to address. If you want to find out more about keeping yourself or your child protected then I suggest you check out Bradly Horowitz’s post regarding the changes and also the Google+ Safety Centre itself.
Okay, so the video may have confused you a little but Your World is basically a social twist on the search results provided by Google. Enabling the “personalised” view of search results allows data from Google+ to be inserted into the list giving you an insight on how your friends / contacts are related to particular search terms.
Searching “Liverpool football club” for example might show me a number of “personal results” alongside the standard search results; these may include pictures from albums, videos that have been shared or simply posts belonging to people within my Google+ circles. There is also the chance that Google+ profiles and pages are included within these personalised search results if they have a strong enough relation to what is being search for at the time, Liverpool football player profiles might be show in “Liverpool football club” search for example. This might seem a novelty feature but imagine searching for a product or holiday destination you are interested in and then realising your contacts already have experience with it, you then have the ability to browse their pictures and comments to assist you in making a decision while also having the potential to open a dialogue with one of those contacts.
There are already privacy concerns with regards to personal photos being displayed on Google’s search engine but I am confident that this is something Google will address after the history of privacy scandals we have seen other social networks face (book) in the past. People are also stating that this is something they don’t want to see during their standard usage of Google’s search network but this is no problem as users can simply select whether they want it included or not via a click of a button.
For those of you interested in Your World and Google+ then I would suggest checking out the following link for now - http://www.google.com/insidesearch/plus.html
Publiser By Supetra Rahadiyono
