Gizmo | Google steps into social networking – Louisville Courier
July 23, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
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If some of your friends are dropping off Facebook or Twitter, they might be popping up at Google+.
The Plus is Google’s latest and most successful attempt to offer a social networking product that could compete with the Facebook behemoth. After launching quietly on an invitation-only basis in June, Google reported last week that the service has more than 10 million members.
Google+ starts with a clean, attractive and ad-free design, then delivers many of the same features that made Facebook successful: shared links, news feeds from friends and photo albums. But each element has its own distinctive spin.
With Google+, you can sort people into Circles, such as family members, friends, colleagues, acquaintances or just interesting people you’d like to follow. As with Twitter, you don’t have to establish a “friendship” with Google Chief Executive Larry Page to add his posts to your news stream.
Likewise, you can publish your updates to selected groups. You might have information you want to share with your friends, but not necessarily with Mom and Dad.
While you can chat with a Facebook friend, Google+ has a more open feature for video chats called Hangout. Up to 10 people can join a Hangout video chat, even if they’re not in each other’s Circles.
Sparks is a Google+ feature that lets you keep up with topics that interest you with items from blogs, websites and news services. Google offers some preset topics, such as gardening or sports cars, or you can enter your own keywords, like “Chicago Bears,” “Volkswagen” or “Zooey Deschanel.”
Google does a swell job of integrating photo albums from its Picasa photo-management program. I especially like the collage it creates from a collection of different-sized photos.
The mobile version of Google+ for Android phones lets you read streams from people who are in your neighborhood.
And, you can count this as a plus or a minus: Lady Gaga is already there.
Call Ric at (502) 582-4240 or email him at ricman@courier-journal.com.
Online: Ask Ric a question at courier-journal.com/ric
