Google+ Discussion Thread

[Russinating]

I'm just crossing my fingers that it won't be long before a Facebook -> Google+ thing is programmed.

 

[gropingmantis]

I'm just crossing my fingers that it won't be long before a Facebook -> Google+ thing is programmed.

There was one but Facebook blocked it fairly quickly.

 

[Glaucus]

Ita doomed to fail. Bebo or any of the other ones before Facebook, didn't have anywhere near the penetration of Facebook.
With out 95% of. Your friends being on it. It becomes pointless for most people. As such it will never take on Facebook however good it is and tbh it doesn't seem to offer much anyway, pretty much a different layout. Other than groups, and I'm sure Facebook will implement anything good anyway.

 

[Xinn]

Personally I don't think they are trying to take over Facebook, it seem's to me to be aimed at a more specific group of people.

A lot of the tech blogs etc and people I follow on Twitter have taken it on and seem to be loving it.

 

[LordSplodge]

Ita doomed to fail.

MySpace was the dominant social networking site? Look what happened to them. Facebook can (and probably will) go the same way. If it is G+ or something else than becomes the de-facto standard only time will tell.

eventually all the "less Internet aware" people will see that something has taken away a lot of their "friends" and move on.

For me G+ can easily replace Facebook but it does need an iOS app. Twitter + Google Plus seems like my ideal social media combo. Onced linked and with an IOS app my Facebook account is being nuked. Hell I only use Facebook to post fun at the idiots on there anyway!

 

[Russinating]

As such it will never take on Facebook however good it is and tbh it doesn't seem to offer much anyway, pretty much a different layout. Other than groups, and I'm sure Facebook will implement anything good anyway.

It has circles (or groups or whatever) which completely changes everything. When I was at university Facebook revolutionised things by being able to share and tag photos. Now G+ has revolutionised things by separating contacts. Their app is also already a lot better, the instant upload is genius and the whole system is just so much nicer already (bigger photos that fill the screen, Gmail integration, etc).

For me G+ can easily replace Facebook but it does need an iOS app.

Google submitted the app to Apple 3+ weeks ago now. The Android app is very nice, much better than Facebook, so it's worth any wait .

 

[Glaucus]

MySpace was the dominant social networking site?

Yes and no.
It did not have mass Market penetration. It had the largest share before social networking took over the world and involved every group of society.
That is no longer the case. Facebook has penetration that has Not been seen before by said sites. One of the main points of social networking is that nearly everyone is on it and as such google+ will not pull people away.
It's possible it could work with software that integrates both, but Facebook has blocked that option.
It could survive as a niche product.

Lots of people are impressed, I like it. Groups is a very nice and useful touch. But it's still pointless for me, as it has far less to do with features and much more to do with penetration and having nearly everyone I know on it.

 

[LordSplodge]

Google submitted the app to Apple 3+ weeks ago now. The Android app is very nice, much better than Facebook, so it's worth any wait .

I've seen the G+ Android app on my friends works Nexus One. It is a nice app and makes G+ much more useful. I've just upgraded his works phone to an iPhone 4 (in line with the rest of IT) and he is bemoaning the lack of a G+ App.

Steve Jobs needs to pull his finger out. G+ linked to Twitter and an iOS app would be epic.

 

[Koalaboy]

I deleted my profile.

I think it's too tightly-coupled with your email address - okay, it's the same account - you can't have a G+ profile/account separate from your main gmail account if you have one, and still reference that email.

I use gmail for all my day-to-day stuff, and rely on it heavily (though I'm trying to change that). I don't want my social networking to be completely tied to that.

Also, I'd want different 'profiles' for each circle. Whilst most people know me as 'koalaboy' for example, many of my old friends and family don't and I don't want them to, but I don't necessarily want everyone who does know me like that to know my real name - how do you mix different groups of friends with one single persona ?

(Yes, I know many people only have one persona - themselves - on the internet, but I don't think that's particularly wise these days)

Not being able to link multiple gmail accounts is also a pain

Finally, where's the option to limit your stream to just some people ? I want to see everything *apart* from those in my 'following' circle. But I can't.

Maybe, when it's far more flexible and doesn't open up the security for socialising's sake, I'll come back. Until then, it's just another (overhyped) fad.

 

[Russinating]

Lots of people are impressed, I like it. Groups is a very nice and useful touch. But it's still pointless for me, as it has far less to do with features and much more to do with penetration and having nearly everyone I know on it.

I agree to a certain extent, but Facebook's penetration is useless to me because of its lack of features. Sure, 90% of my primary school friends are probably on Facebook, but there's no way in hell I'll add them as friends. On Google+ however? Hell yes! They can go in the "I won't share anything with you but cool links and funny pictures" circle.

At the end of university I had ~400 friends, I now have 80 and I cull a few people every month simply because of Facebook's lack of separation.

 

[Glaucus]

I'm sure Facebook will add such features.

I don't really care about nobaodys, its your real friends that count and the event organisation, pictures and chat.
Groups is the only thing I can see on google+ that is different and hopefully that will be copied.

No point making an event if you have to phone/email 80% of the people as they aren't on google+

 

[Russinating]

Also, I'd want different 'profiles' for each circle. Whilst most people know me as 'koalaboy' for example, many of my old friends and family don't and I don't want them to, but I don't necessarily want everyone who does know me like that to know my real name - how do you mix different groups of friends with one single persona ?

You know you can just create as many Gmail/Google accounts as you want? You could just have one for each?

 

[Dewotter]

I've seen the G+ Android app on my friends works Nexus One. It is a nice app and makes G+ much more useful. I've just upgraded his works phone to an iPhone 4 (in line with the rest of IT) and he is bemoaning the lack of a G+ App.

Steve Jobs needs to pull his finger out. G+ linked to Twitter and an iOS app would be epic.

I imagine Apple will be happy to allow it once it's out of beta. I guess in this case the back end service being in beta is the reason for the hold up.

 

[Russinating]

I'm sure Facebook will add such features.

I hope so! If all G+ does for the time being is make Facebook add such a feature then happy days.

I don't really care about nobaodys, its your real friends that count and the event organisation, pictures and chat.

Definitely. But acquaintances are useful, as are business contacts. Currently you can't use Facebook for any of those things, but you can use G+ for all 3, separately. The guy I met and rid with on the TDF for example added me on Facebook when we got home. I declined because I barely know him and I don't want him to see my entire life story, but I wish I could have accepted him. I've since invited him to G+ .

 

[Combat squirrel]

I have no idea what it is, or how to use it, took one look at the front page and didnt sign up, is it going to be the next big thing ?

 

[LizardKing]

If they didnt use the stupid invite sign up requirement i could see this working quite well, but as it stands i see this going the same way google wave did.
By the time the registration has opened the average user will have lost any interest for it.

 

["andy"]

At the end of university I had ~400 friends, I now have 80 and I cull a few people every month simply because of Facebook's lack of separation.

you can separate facebook friends easily enough ?

its been possible to have seperate groups of friends for years

for example certain family members cant see photos ive been tagged in because the only time anyone bothers tagging photos are when they are hilariously terrible

 

[|Thomas|]

Like I say there are plenty of people who will look into it because google is their start page. You have to already know about facebook to have it as your startpage.

I'm not convinced plenty of people will. The sort of people who would get curious about a new link appearing on the top bar of google will be the sort of people who would know facebook exists and probably use it (or have actively chosen not to).

The sort of people who don't know facebook exists you could literally shove in front of a different browser and they wouldn't notice, or if they did notice they wouldn't care. These people would never notice this new G+ thing.

You might think this is a sweeping generalisation, but given that according to wiki facebook has over 600 million active accounts, it is clear that a huge proportion of internet users use facebook. The chances are the people who don't use it in the developed world don't have any interest in using it, even if they don't know it exists.

 

[Xinn]

You know you can just create as many Gmail/Google accounts as you want? You could just have one for each?

I think Google are operating some policy of real names only though at the moment at least. Some people have had accounts deleted due to not using a real name and using an alias instead.

Business's/ website accounts have also been deleted until the specific support for these types of accounts comes later.

If they didnt use the stupid invite sign up requirement

It creates hype though. If it's hard (or appears hard) to get something it will make more people want it. Look at the Wii when it came out, I'm sure most would agree the apparant shortage was Nintendo's doing which caused media coverage and more people wanting them as a result. Same thing with G+ imo.

 

[Sunbed]

Google+ Roulette here we come:

http://lifehacker.com/5822582/gphangouts-lists-public-google%2B-hangouts