Google has unleashed a whole bunch of newness this past week! Of course, typical of most new internet services, most are either in limited availability or rolling out over a period of time. But all of this seems to be big news in the tech world, and could potentially spell the end to some of the more popular services out there. Let's recap all the Google stuff that went down in the last few days.
- Google + Google finally thinks they have the Answer to Facebook. Very few have gotten to experience it so far, but most agree that this service has some great potential. Of course Google Plus isn't just one app, but a series of services pulled together in one place. Currently you have a web interface and a very slick looking Android App. An iOS app is supposed to be released very soon. Let's break down the features found in Plus
- Circles: You can follow anyone you want to within Google plus. And once you do, you can assign them to a list or a "circle" When you share stuff, you pick the circle you want to share with. This is can be everyone, or one or a combination of circles. Google seems to think that this should be an important aspect of the Social experience. Users seem to like it. But how much maintenance will this require over a period of time? Lists are available in Facebook now and no one uses them . . . Has Google found the right combination to make this happen?
- Hangouts: I've seen this demoed live now a couple of times, and I am very impressed. This is a video chat program. Think Skype, but this is geared more to group video chatting. Currently up to 11 persons can join in on any given hangout. You have the ability to mute certain people within the enviornment and to pull any one person up into a larger window. If this works real world as good as I've seen it work, look out Skype! This really does look incredible!
- Instant upload: Once you get Google Plus installed on your mobile phone, you have the option to automatically upload all the photos and videos you take. Once on your plus server, you then choose which photos to share and with what circles. I really am excited about a feature such as this.
- Sparks: These are very similar to newsfeeds on the web and Hashtags in twitter. Pick topics you are interested in and it feeds you stuff across the web on those topics. You can then share the things with your circles.
- Huddle: An easy way to text message a group of people. These people get these texts whether they are on their mobile devices or their computers. Powerful stuff!
So you would think that would be a full week for Google huh? But NOOOOO, there's more. Quite a bit more actually!
- Pool Party: What the heck is pool party? Well, it's Google's answer to Instagram, which is a very successful photo sharing service found on the iOS platform. There is an iOS and Android app ready and waiting, but again, this is a limited beta release, so downloading them isn't enough. Request an invite and try to be patient.
- New Looks for Google Services: This really is too big to cover in a bullet space! Mobile, Gmail, Calendars and even the classic Google search page are all getting new looks and themes. Along with the new look comes new features and icons. Check out the Google Mobile page on Android!
Did I leave anything out? All of this in one week! I'm still waiting to get into Plus and Pool Party! I've been invited to plus, but Google hasn't seen fit to let me there yet. A pool party invite hasn't made it's way to my inbox either, but I've got my fingers crossed that I won't be waiting much longer.
Of course the big question is will these products live up to their hype? I can't recall more internet buzz around something like this since Apple's iPhone. Google has been very successful in several areas, but one area where they have consistantly failed is in social web products. Time will tell if they have learned from those mistakes. 750 million facebook users are going to have to have some really good reasons to totally leave that platform. Google has to offer a superior product and then start the uphill climb to win folks over. No one knows if they can pull this off, but I promise that powers at Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Skype, Foursquare, and Instagram are certainly paying attention.
Buds who Blog