Google has deepened the integration between its Google+ social network and Gmail, adding a feature that auto-suggests Google+ contacts when Gmail users are typing in email recipients. In other words, you can email any of your Google+ contacts without knowing their email address, and they can email you as well.
The feature will be rolled out over the coming days to all Gmail users who also have Google+ profiles. Gmail will auto-suggest Google+ users that the email sender has added to his Circles on the social network. (Circles is the term Google uses for connections on Google+.) However, email senders will not see the email address of the Google+ contact being auto-suggested unless the contact responds to the message, and messages from Google+ users that aren’t also in your own Circles will appear in your Gmail account’s Social tab, rather than the Primary tab.
Google+ users are able to control who can contact them from Gmail in this way with four options. They can opt out entirely, so that they won’t appear in Gmail auto-suggest. They can limit the feature to include only people they have added to their own Circles. They can make the scope broader by extending it to people with a second degree of Circles separation, meaning people you’re not connected to but who are connected to someone in your Circles. The last option is to open up the feature to anyone on Google+.
The goal of this new feature is to make it easier for Google+ users to communicate via Gmail. Google says the feature will be rolling out over the next few days.
Google has said repeatedly that its intention is to integrate Google+ broadly and deeply with its other services, sites and web applications, so that it can act as a common, underlying social networking layer. Google has integrated Google+ with Gmail, Blogger, Apps, YouTube and other products to varying degrees already.Image and article credit goes to PC World
For those of you who felt you can run forever from Google+, well, I have got some bad news for you: Google is going to blackmail you.
After investing so much in Google+, Google thinks it’s the right time for you to get rid of Facebook, delete your Tumblr page and stop complaining. I’m sorry, if you think you really have an option: This hilarious video has revealed Google’s new strategy to force you into joining Google+. http://www.collegehumor.com/e/6942530 It’s incredible and equally awkward to imagine the impact this could have on your life. How well do you enjoy people keeping tracks on your searches – Like your employer knowing that you looked up “How to implicate my boss?” twice, before reporting to duty 1 hour earlier than usual?
Like a popular adage goes “You can’t beat them? Join them”, you really don’t have an option. To remain on the safer side, you need to bite the bullet, and sign up.
Dear Readers, this might be my last post of the year 2012, I wish you all a MERRY XMAS and GLORIOUS NEW YEARthis year I want to make sure that you cross over to the new year on the high. Google+ Gadget: Introduction:Connecting your blog to Google+ is a great way to attract new readers, as well as build lasting relationships with your followers. For example, you can easily share your posts in the Google+ stream, as well as enable blog visitors to recommend your stuff in a single click. Today we’re excited to offer another Google+ perk: the followers gadget. The Google+ followers gadget highlights your total Google+ audience (both its size and some friendly faces), and offers visitors the chance to follow you on Google+. As a result, you can grow your readership across the web, and reach them either in the Google+ stream, or through your blog.
With Blogger and Google+ improving each day as google hit bloggers with a stupendous means of communicating with their readers easily just after blogger introducing the new blogger mobile app.
“Blogs are a great way to spark a conversation, and today we’re giving you a new way to grab someone’s attention: Google+ mentions in Blogger. Now you can add a link to a Google+ profile or page when you want to mention someone in a post. If you then share your post from Blogger to Google+, we make it easier to notify your mentions by including them in the sharebox. To mention someone, just type “+” before their name while you’re using the Blogger post editor.
The profile or page will show up as a link in your published post. Hovering over will show a card with more info and an ‘Add to circles’ button. Clicking the link takes you straight to the Google+ profile or page.”
So, whether you want to credit a co-author (thanks +Gregory Fair!), ask a question, or just kick off a dialogue, connect your blog to Google+ and try mentioning someone in your next post!
Google’s Hangout feature is once again giving Google+ users a chance to get closer to the stars, this time with a Olympic twist. The New York Times-sponsored series started on Wednesday with basketball stars Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. Both are members of the 2012 USA Basketball team. The hangouts will run through next Tuesday.
Google Hangouts have been a favorite stop of politicians, celebrities, and friends.President Obama used the feature to connect with voters back in January, and musical artists the Black Eyed Peas participated in a hangout last October to chat with fans shortly before they took the stage at a concert in New York City. But with the Olympics coming up in short order, it makes sense for these hangouts to feature some of America’s top athletes, doesn’t it? That said, the list of athletes participating is heavy in the marathoner department, with three runners. Friday’s chat featured Shalane Flanagan, a long distance runner planning to participate in the Olympic Marathon. Monday’s Olympic Games Hangout will also feature another runner, male marathoner Ryan Hall, who is expected to contend for a medal in London. His Google Plus hangout begins at 2 p.m. ET. Hall will be followed by brothers Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the second ranked men’s doubles team in the world and widely expected to earn a medal in the Olympic tennis tournament. Their chat occurs at 5 p.m. ET Monday.
The Hangout series ends on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, with yet another marathoner, Kara Goucher. All chats occur from The New York Times’Google+ page. If you would like to ask a question, either comment on the post announcing the Hangout or post the question to your own Google+ wall with the hashtag #London2012Hangout. Those with the best questions will get the chance to ask them live of the athletes during the event, the paper says.
This is an article by Sharon Gaudin, Computerworld and felt I should share it with you so we can all put our views together. A year after Google+ was launched, it seems Google is saying it’s not really a social network after all. Now this might be confusing to the 150 million people who actively use Google+ every month. They catch up with colleagues and friends on Google+ Circles. They chat with family members in Google+ Hangouts. They post photos. They watch videos. So aren’t those the things you do on a social network? Google has other thoughts on this. According to a report from Mashable, Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president of social business, and Bradley Horowitz, Google+’s vice president of product, said Google+ may be social, but it’s more than that. Instead of a social network, Google+ is an upgrade to all Google products. “Google+ is just an upgrade to Google,” Gundotra told Mashable. “People have a hard time understanding that. I think they like to compare us with other social competitors, and they see us through that lens instead of really seeing what’s happening: Google is taking its amazing products, and by bringing them together, they just become more awesome.” Google declined to comment. The company has been saying since last fall that Google+ will be woven into all of its products. Speaking on an earnings call last October, Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page said he wants to “transform the overall Google experience” with Google+. “This means baking identity and sharing into all of our products so that we build a real relationship with our users,” Page added. “Sharing on the Web will be like sharing in real life across all your stuff.” And that’s what Google started to do. Soon after Page made that statement, Google began integrating Google+ with Google Apps, the company’s cloud-based office suite. While Google+ is expected to be used across Google’s product portfolio, does that mean it’s still not a social network? No, not at all, according to Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. “This is a great example of moving the goal posts while the football is in the air,” Olds said. “Google didn’t do much to scotch these comparisons when Google+ was being rolled out, but now, a year later, Google+ suddenly isn’t like Facebook at all? It’s major-league and masterful spin, but I don’t think it holds water.” He added that just because Google+ is being integrated across product lines, that doesn’t change what it is at its core. “It’s still a social network at heart,” said Olds. “Google+ is still a service that gives users a chance to share and connect with others, and that’s what social networks do. If you take the social networking out of Google+, then it’s just a console, right?” However, Brian Blau, an analyst at Gartner, pointed out that Google has never come out and said that it’s focused on competing with Facebook. “I think the sentiment over the statement is correct,” he added. “They may not be competing over a social network as a pillar of a business, but certainly they are competing for consumer mindshare on technologies like search, location and mobile.” And Blau also noted that Google is smart to make all of its products more social because that will bring in more information and, in turn, more money for Google. “Maybe what you are seeing is a change in definition of what it means to be a social network,” said Blau. “The direction you are seeing with Google is the natural direction for how social will be integrated into consumer technology, and enterprise too. It will be a feature versus a stand-alone product.” However, Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy, said he’s not buying that Google doesn’t think Google+ is a social network. “This talk is nothing more than clever product repositioning,” he said. “Gundotra realizes now they cannot compete head-to-head with Facebook or Twitter, so he is attempting to change the playing field and lower expectations for everyone…. Google+ is a social network so long as it is a meeting place where users share their experiences, likes [and] dislikes, and others respond as if it’s a virtual conversation.” Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin and on Google+, or subscribe to Sharon’s RSS feed. Her email address is [email protected]. See more by Sharon Gaudin on Computerworld.com. Read more about web 2.0 and web apps in Computerworld’s Web 2.0 and Web Apps Topic Center.
Google+ is the most recent player in the social networking field. When it first came, we reckoned it was just another attempt by Google to counter Facebook’s increasing dominance, and that it will fail like other projects from Google in the past such as Google Buzz, Orkut etc. But now, it seems that it is obviously here to stay. Google+ is a lot more than just a social networking website. The +1 button isn’t just another Like button, as you will see later in this post. Google+ is a site where you can show your interests, have connections, and build an identity. It’s a friend of webmasters, who can achieve a lot more by using this simple social site. In a way, Google is trying to provide a coherent experience to the users by introducing all their products such as Google Search, GMail, Google News, etc. And Google+ could be the glue that holds everything together to provide an uninterrupted and ‘seamless Google experience’ to the users. In this post, we will talk about how important Google+ is, and why should you use the +1 button, and how it all helps webmasters. Starting out with Google Plus First of all, you need to have a presence on Google+ for it to be of any use to you. Read our post on how to join Google+. A public profile on Google Plus is very important. You can also create a separate Google+ page or your blog or brand, just like a Facebook Page. Google+ then gives you many features. Here is a video by Google’s Developer Programs Tech Lead, Maile Ohye, who summarizes the concepts explained in this post.
Intimacy; Create Circles, follow people, and Hang out! Google introduced this great feature of Circles. Circles can come in real handy if you want to do targeted marketing. You can share your updates with any of your circles, and the people in the remaining circles won’t get those updates. This way, you can only share your personal updates with your family circle, and brand related updates to its respective circle. Also, you can set up more circles and target a specific audience, such as only men, or only women etc.
At Google+, you can follow anyone, just like Twitter. It doesn’t need confirmation. So if you would like to get updates from your favorite brand, you can simply follow them. On the other hand, if you don’t want someone to follow you, you can simply block them out!
Another great feature that inspired change in Facebook is the Hangouts feature. With this, up to ten people can start a conference video call and talk to each other. Google+ Interaction Google+ Interaction allows you to edit any of your posts at any time, kinda like a blog post. You can also edit your comments. Unlike a blog post, however, which is always pushed down as new posts arrive, your posts on Google+ will remain on the top depending on their popularity and the comments on them. The +1 Button The +1 Button is more than just a Like button you normally find on Facebook. With it, you can build your reputation. It helps you to publicly recommend and share content you find useful. Unlike the Like button on Facebook which is limited to Facebook itself, the +1 information for a content is available throughout the web on search results, ads and sites. Hence, it isn’t just confined to Google+, but it extends over to all Google products. Also, you can track and manage all your +1s, so that you can revoke them at any time if you don’t like them anymore.
The advantage of the +1 button is, you can +1 a post directly from search results. And if any of the people you know have +1’d a post, you will see it right below the search results. That way, if you +1 something, you’re indirectly recommending it to your followers.
With the +1 button, you can also get great metrics from Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools. The +1s data on your Webmaster Tools will help you better understand your audience by seeing what gender or age group +1’d your posts the most etc. You can also see the +1s for particular pages on your website, and the +1s that were gives for certain pages from other sites on the web.All this shows how you are building your reputation. +1 Search Integration We already talked about how you can +1 a search result right from the SERPs. But there is one thing you need to know. While searching for your results, Google takes your +1 history into account. For example, if I search for ‘earning methods’ and +1 our sister blog smartearningmethods.com, the next time I search for ‘earning methods’, SmartEarningMethods will come up in the top spots. Also, if any of my friends has +1’d another blog, that will come up too. Hence, getting +1s on your posts could prove very useful to you, since Google returns tailored results for each individual.
In search results, Google might also show who the author of a content is. This is where a profile comes in useful. If you have a profile linked to that content, Google might shows that as well, which increases your chances of getting followers.
Google+ can project your brand far beyond your own reach. Users who +1 your content are actually recommending your content to their own followers, who in turn might +1 the content, and so on. Hence, a network builds up with your content at its center. Facebook also has a somewhat similar feature, but the reason Google+ is ahead in this area is, Facebook’s shares are limited to Facebook only, where as the +1 button shows up on search results and is accessible throughout the web.
That was some basic information about Google+ and the +1 button you need to know. Google+ indeed is a a great new opportunity for you to grow your brand’s reach.
