My weight is 102 kgs Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Google+ 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+. 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 (Vic Gundotra) and General MacArthur (Bradley Horowitz). Yes, the one Google has tried to downplay as much as humanly possible — even as we got leak after leak after leak of what they were working on. Yes, the one they weren't going to make a big deal about 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 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. 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. [sOURCE] The reason I created the topic is i want an invite please send me - darthali2006@gmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeehunter Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b!T Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Using it now, its looks, well like its FB with a different name. Circles thing is pretty cool though, and it integrates Picasa to ur profile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b!T Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 @OP, I have invited you. Check whether you got it or not. Scratch that, I think they disabled the invite via e-mail I can't now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammerhead Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Yep, I am also using it. It's pretty neat with circles, hangouts and stuff and I personally like the interface a lot. Its still difficult to say if it will be a serious competition to facebook though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindoctor Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 it seems they've stopped giving out invites now. if anyone has a spare invite i'd appreciate it if you could send it my way. although after wave and buzz i really do wonder whether google can (or even should) do social networking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeehunter Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 It seems there will be issue of privacy again . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shantz Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 It seems there will be issue of privacy again . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My weight is 102 kgs Posted July 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 any one gets invite .... send me ok please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Boss Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I got invite from Avishkar. It looks so much like FB. This invite thing might make it work as it did with gmail, as people are more excited that it isn't gettable easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sackboy Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Someone invite me too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM Sunny Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 OT: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 This thing is actually good because of different circles. Its also sort of like an integration of Twiter and facebook in one as there is an option to put someone in followers circle. and the privacy setting are really easy to use as i see. Google's done a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteWolf Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 MEH.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybeh Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Google + will be offering something fun and new. They seem to be developing features more than what Facebook lacked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Tigre Chino Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Google+ looks pretty sweet. I'd like an invite if anyone has a spare.. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parvinder Singh Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Try visiting this link plus.google.com Since they hv limited window for invites sent.... so they keep opening and closing the entries. I tried yesterday also but didnt work......... i tried today and it worked. i am now using + on both pc and android. Looks good at first look, features are cool specially circles and hangout. But the interface could hv been more crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Stryke Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 is all fine and dandy. But everything is public by default. Not liking that. In any case, it'll only matter if your real friends join it. Now everyone has jus joined it due to hype. Will they visit it after a month? Will more quit fb and join? That is the question Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cash Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 I think they will use both instead of quitting one and using other one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Tigre Chino Posted July 1, 2011 Report Share Posted July 1, 2011 Got an invite.. Dont bother. Sign ups are open atm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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