Introduction
When people are asked what social networking is immediately some web site allowing for social networking comes to mind such as Facebook or Twitter. But if we want to be precise a social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or group of individuals) which are tied together by one or more relationship or interdependency such as friendship or common interest. Social networking is something that can take place physically as well as on the web. Granted that with the introduction of the Internet, social networking took on a life of its own.
Different social networking web sites offer services which allow for social interaction. Services offered are similar between web sites but then there are certain sites which offer additional features. Some such services are ;
Additional features may include;
Social networking is now available in mobile phones which increased the popularity of social networking sites. As social networking is becoming more popular more technologies are being developed that make use of such services such as live broadcasting of news on social networking sites.
Some of the most popular social networking sites are;
This blog post will focus on the introduction of Google’s new social networking portal called Google+.
Tasks Overview
Throughout this blog post we will be exploring Google+ and compare it to one of the most popular social networking site Facebook.
Introduction to Google+
The Google+ services have been launched on 28th June 2011 as an invite only phase. Invited people can then create their account and invite their friends to join. The invite phase was paused for some time due to the large demand for accounts. Not all services offered by Google+ are new such as Google Buzz. Google managed to integrate existing social networking services with new ones and provide a holistic experience. Some of the services provided by Google+ are;
Demonstrating and Discussing Google+
I received my invitation through my web technologies Tutor and was eager to see what all the hype is all about. Once logged in the first thing I noticed was my name at the front of the top menu Google provides in all their services.
Clicking on your name takes you to the G+ (for short) account. The first time I logged into G+ I had to set my profile information and privacy settings. These settings can be revisited by accessing the button on the far right on the top menu.
When I logged in I also notice that the style used for G+ is different that the style I am accustomed to. Personally I found it cleaner and much more readable.
Adding People To Circles
The home page is the landing page of G+. The first thing I decided to do was to find people so I went to the top search bar next to the navigation options and started typing some names. While I was typing I noticed that people who are already added are stated as such in auto suggested list.
A circle represents a group of people with whom you have a specific relationship such as work mates or cooking class mates :). Also one does not need to accept add requests since all that is required is to just add them back. When both users have added each other a relationship is formed between the two users.
Adding people is very easy to do from the Circles tab which is the last button in the navigation bar. Adding people is achieved by dragging a profile from the sorted listed to a circle of your preference.
The Home Page
The main section in the home page is the stream which is very similar to the Facebook Feed. The stream section allows for people in your circles to write comments, upload images and videos etc. To the left hand side of the stream is a list of contacts available for instant messaging. To the right hand side of the stream suggestions and hangouts are displayed.
Sparks
Sparks allows you to add your interests and receive information and news about them. A list of featured interests are shown as well as a search bar which allows you to search about anything you are interested in.
Hangouts
The hangout is a nifty and cool feature which allows for multiple friends to chat together. This feature that audio and video and really easy to set up. At the bottom of the hangout window a button to invite other friends is available as well as to chat. One could also add a you tube video as part of a conversation by clicking on the You Tube button.
Photos
One of the options available at the navigation bar is photos. This allows you to see photos shared by people in your circles. The photo stream allows you to tag photos using Picasa. Comments can be posted on the right hand side of the opened photo.
The Profile
The profile is quite self explanatory with the exception of 1’s. This 1’s button works like the “like” button on Facebook. Anything which is tagged throughout the web is listed here. The profile allows you to see your own profile from another user’s perspective by writing the user’s name in the text with the placeholder text “View profile as”.
The posts section allows you to post messages,comments or stories on your profile. The edit post menu allows you to block sharing or commenting on your posts. The fact that one can edit post creates a bit of a dilemma since one can tag your post +1 and then you can edit the post to say something entirely different or worse the complete opposite.
Conclusion
Google+ has great potential when it comes to an online social networking experience. Google might need to make G+ more integrated as there is a lot of potential in other Google apps which can be of great use to the overall experience. As for usability, clarity and the rest as usual Google rocks.
When people are asked what social networking is immediately some web site allowing for social networking comes to mind such as Facebook or Twitter. But if we want to be precise a social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or group of individuals) which are tied together by one or more relationship or interdependency such as friendship or common interest. Social networking is something that can take place physically as well as on the web. Granted that with the introduction of the Internet, social networking took on a life of its own.
Different social networking web sites offer services which allow for social interaction. Services offered are similar between web sites but then there are certain sites which offer additional features. Some such services are ;
- Creation of user profiles
- Blog entries
- Search for users with similar interests or according to geolocation
- Sharing of information
- Post comments on friends or user profiles
- Instant Messaging
Additional features may include;
- Creation of groups
- Group Discussions
Social networking is now available in mobile phones which increased the popularity of social networking sites. As social networking is becoming more popular more technologies are being developed that make use of such services such as live broadcasting of news on social networking sites.
Some of the most popular social networking sites are;
- Bebo
- Hi5
This blog post will focus on the introduction of Google’s new social networking portal called Google+.
Tasks Overview
Throughout this blog post we will be exploring Google+ and compare it to one of the most popular social networking site Facebook.
- Introduction to Google+
- Demonstrating and discuss Google+
Introduction to Google+
The Google+ services have been launched on 28th June 2011 as an invite only phase. Invited people can then create their account and invite their friends to join. The invite phase was paused for some time due to the large demand for accounts. Not all services offered by Google+ are new such as Google Buzz. Google managed to integrate existing social networking services with new ones and provide a holistic experience. Some of the services provided by Google+ are;
- Google Buzz
- Google Profiles
- Circles
- Hangouts
- Sparks
- Huddles
Demonstrating and Discussing Google+
I received my invitation through my web technologies Tutor and was eager to see what all the hype is all about. Once logged in the first thing I noticed was my name at the front of the top menu Google provides in all their services.
Clicking on your name takes you to the G+ (for short) account. The first time I logged into G+ I had to set my profile information and privacy settings. These settings can be revisited by accessing the button on the far right on the top menu.
When I logged in I also notice that the style used for G+ is different that the style I am accustomed to. Personally I found it cleaner and much more readable.
Adding People To Circles
The home page is the landing page of G+. The first thing I decided to do was to find people so I went to the top search bar next to the navigation options and started typing some names. While I was typing I noticed that people who are already added are stated as such in auto suggested list.
A circle represents a group of people with whom you have a specific relationship such as work mates or cooking class mates :). Also one does not need to accept add requests since all that is required is to just add them back. When both users have added each other a relationship is formed between the two users.
Adding people is very easy to do from the Circles tab which is the last button in the navigation bar. Adding people is achieved by dragging a profile from the sorted listed to a circle of your preference.
The Home Page
The main section in the home page is the stream which is very similar to the Facebook Feed. The stream section allows for people in your circles to write comments, upload images and videos etc. To the left hand side of the stream is a list of contacts available for instant messaging. To the right hand side of the stream suggestions and hangouts are displayed.
Sparks
Sparks allows you to add your interests and receive information and news about them. A list of featured interests are shown as well as a search bar which allows you to search about anything you are interested in.
Hangouts
The hangout is a nifty and cool feature which allows for multiple friends to chat together. This feature that audio and video and really easy to set up. At the bottom of the hangout window a button to invite other friends is available as well as to chat. One could also add a you tube video as part of a conversation by clicking on the You Tube button.
Photos
One of the options available at the navigation bar is photos. This allows you to see photos shared by people in your circles. The photo stream allows you to tag photos using Picasa. Comments can be posted on the right hand side of the opened photo.
The Profile
The profile is quite self explanatory with the exception of 1’s. This 1’s button works like the “like” button on Facebook. Anything which is tagged throughout the web is listed here. The profile allows you to see your own profile from another user’s perspective by writing the user’s name in the text with the placeholder text “View profile as”.
The posts section allows you to post messages,comments or stories on your profile. The edit post menu allows you to block sharing or commenting on your posts. The fact that one can edit post creates a bit of a dilemma since one can tag your post +1 and then you can edit the post to say something entirely different or worse the complete opposite.
Conclusion
Google+ has great potential when it comes to an online social networking experience. Google might need to make G+ more integrated as there is a lot of potential in other Google apps which can be of great use to the overall experience. As for usability, clarity and the rest as usual Google rocks.
