NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, August 2011
New Google+ Takes on Facebook
By Ira Wilsker, Radio Show Host,
Columnist, College Professor and deputy sheriff
iwilsker@sbcglobal.net
(click to email author)

WEBSITES:
http://plus.google.com
http://goo.gl/qKh72 - Wiki of user created Google+ Tips and Tricks
http://www.google.com/mobile/+/ Google+ Mobile
http://gplus.to - Create free vanity Google+ address
http://google.com/+ - Mobile Web Access
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/266334/6-things-google-can-do-that-facebook-can-t/1

Over the past few weeks, Google has been quietly rolling out what may become a killer app that is clearly intended to compete with Facebook and other social networking services. This new Google service goes under the moniker "Google+", and is still in "beta" (pre-release version).

Currently (as I type this) Google+ is not yet ready for unlimited membership (as it is still in beta), and only allows registration (free) via a system of "invites", which can be extended only by current Google+ members. Just because someone is lucky enough to currently have Google+ access, and can send invites to others, the potential new members may not automatically be able to join, as Google+ only periodically "opens the gate" (Google's term). I was fortunate to receive an invite a few days ago when the gate was opened for a limited time, which allowed me to join Google+. Once a member of Google+, I immediately sent invites to all of my extended family, some of whom were allowed to sign up (the gate was still open), and most were told to wait (gate closed). According to some Google blog postings, it is alleged that "millions" signed up for Google+ during some of the limited openings of the membership gate.

Google+ is organized somewhat differently from the way that Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites are organized, and utilizes a series of user defined "circles". Circles are defined by Google+ as, " ... groups of people you share content with. The names of your circles and who you add to them are visible only to you, though you can set whether the list of people in all of your circles is visible in your public profile." The default circles are Friends, Family, Acquaintances, and Following, but the user is free to create his own customized circles; some of the circles that I have seen include Co-Workers, Students (set up by a teacher for her class), Computer Club (set up to exchange information among club members), political circles, hobby circles, sports circles, businesses, and any other topic that one can imagine. When a user posts on Google+, he chooses which circle or circles he wants his message to appear in. Likewise, the user can decide which circles he wants to view at any given time. It is easy to add other users to your circle by either clicking on their names and selecting circles off of a menu, or the user can simply drag and drop a user into a circle. Whenever a member of the circle posts a message to that circle, the post appears on the main Google+ page under the heading "Stream".

"Sparks" enables user to collect information on topics of interest. To add a "Spark", the user can enter a search term in the box on the top of the Spark page, and select the term from the pull-down menu, and click the blue "Add Interest" button. The topics selected will appear on the left margin of the Google+ page, and clicking on the topic will display the latest information on that subject, as found on the Google search engine. Sparks may evolve into a quasi-commercial feature, in that it may in the future have the ability for users to "like" a product, service, blog, or other item, and have that item included on the Sparks list for future reference.

On the right side of the Google+ page is a green button "Start a Hangout". Clicking on that button will enable up to 10 users to participate in a video chat, using the computer's webcam. Each "Hangout" session creates a unique URL (web address), and anyone with web access can participate in the group video chat, even if he is not a Google+ member.

At the top of the Google+ page are a series of icons for Home, Photos, Profiles, and Circles, as well as a "Find people" search box. The Home icon opens the main personal Google+ page with the streams, and other features. The Photos icon opens a page which by default displays photos uploaded by members of your circles. Once opened, the photo page can selectively display photos uploaded from the user's phone, photos of the user, and a personal photo album. A prominent icon "Upload New Photos" allows the user to create new albums, drag and drop existing photos into selected albums, or upload photos from the user's computer to the selected photo album. The Profiles icon displays the user's profile, while the Circles icon allows the user to manage and create his circles, as well as view who has added you to their circles.

Since Google is very heavily in the portable and mobile device market, it is appropriate that Google+ would be available for the mobile market (google.com/mobile/+/). Google+ has a free app currently available for Android powered devices, with an iPhone app "coming soon" according to Google. For those with other smart phones and other mobile devices, Google+ has a mobile compatible version accessible by entering google.com/+ in the mobile browser. The Android (and soon the iPhone) app has some additional features not currently available on the full web version of Google+. One such feature is "Huddle" which, " ... lets you turn multiple conversations into one simple group chat." The Android app also allows the user to quickly upload photos to Google+, and then edit and share them as desired. The other major features, such as Stream and Circles are available on the mobile versions.

According to a recent article in the online version of PC Magazine (PCMag.com), there are several features available in Google+ that are not (yet) available in Facebook, which may give Google+ an edge in this highly competitive field. Since Google+ has circles under the control of the user, the user can choose to share posts, photos, links, or other content with only selected people, a feature not currently available on Facebook. The Google+ feature Hangout, with nothing comparable on Facebook, allows the users to have a live video chat with other selected users, regardless if they are registered on Google+. Parallel to this, considering that Google owns YouTube, Hangout can be used to play a YouTube video over the Hangout connection, such that it can be viewed simultaneously by the Hangout participants, with a mechanism for the viewers to comment while the video is playing. Since the mobile apps support the ability to instantly upload images to the Google+ "cloud", Google+, unlike Facebook, gives the user the opportunity to edit images prior to posting, and to decide who (if anyone) can view each image. Obviously since Google+ is in its infancy (still in beta), and Facebook is highly evolved, Facebook has features that are not (yet) available in Google+.

One concern expressed by privacy advocates is the Google+ privacy statement, which gives Google non-exclusive rights to any posts, images, photos, or other uploaded content. Be sure to read the privacy statement before registering for the service, and if you are not satisfied with it, do not complete the registration process.

While Google+ is in its infancy, some helpful third party apps and features are already becoming popular. One that I quickly utilized is a web service that allows the user to create a unique vanity URL to display his Google+ pages. By connecting to gplus.to, the user can instantly create his vanity address in the form of "http://gplus.to/". Another very helpful third party app is a wiki (community created posting) titled "Google+: A Collaborative Document", which contains hints, tips, tricks, and instructions about how to use Google+ and its features. This document was created in "Google Docs" and has a mechanism where users can contribute tips, input, and edit the content. This "Collaborative Document", which is arguably the most comprehensive set of instructions currently available for Google+ is accessible at http://goo.gl/qKh72.

Understanding that it is still in beta, and that it only has a tiny fraction of users compared to Facebook, Google+ will be the future power to reckon with when it comes to social networking. Watch for future announcements of Google+ becoming open for general memberships, or ask your friends who are already on Google+ for an invite to join. Once it becomes more available, Facebook will have a very worthy competitor, and with the clout (and finances) of Google, Facebook may have something to worry about. Open Attachment EXAMINER 060311 - Create PDF Files for Free.doc Open

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