July 8, 2011
Google +…You?
Is this real life? Is there yet ANOTHER way to let everyone in the world what you’re doing when you’re doing it? Well the fine folks over at Google are adding to their already impressive e-resume of ways to make the world a more user-friendly place by giving us the latest in social networking: Google+.
We know the first question that comes to mind when hearing the phrase “new social network” is WHY? But, Google+ offers a smorgasbord of new features that other social networks haven’t yet offered. Once logged in, see your “YOU” (profile), walk in circles, hangout with your friends, create some sparks, and huddle up when needed.
“Circles” allows you to make groups in order to make sharing easier, because perhaps sharing that video you found on YouTube would be better appreciated by your college roommate than the boss in the next room down. Consider this your posse organizer.
“Hangouts”, which is basically like posting an update or checking in on Facebook. What’s nice about this feature is you can join your friends in their post hangout, so the spontaneous get together is easily shared with those worth sharing.
For those of us who are addicted to StumbleUpon, or just too lazy to search for things on your own, “Sparks” will do the searching for you. Simple tell it what you’re interested in and it will retrieve anything and everything it thinks suits you. If you’re busy now but plan on some downtime later, Sparks will archive your interested until its time for you to do a little web surfing.
“Huddle”-ing makes the indecisive friend, over-texter, and no-response kid come together so you can finally get the answers you need. Much like a group chat, this function allows your friends to keep a consistent chain of conversation going, so everyone is pleased and no one is left out.
So we know that social media is now everywhere and you can literally be checking in whenever you want, so how do we know that this will be a big hit? Well, the majority of everyone has Googled at one point or another, and some are just so Googled that they bought the phone specifically for that reason. Whether or not this new scene is for you may best be described by CNN, so check it out and see for yourself!
