Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+ • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#241

Post by cuu508 » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 8:59 PM UTC

Periodic wrote: post #40

fedd wrote: post #32

too complex to use may affect usage negatively. too many features is not always good. trying to mimic real live brings the complexities of real life to the web. check this: "With Hangouts, the unplanned meet-up comes to the web for the first time. Let specific buddies (or entire circles) know you’re hanging out and then see who drops by for a face-to-face-to-face chat. Until teleportation arrives, it’s the next best…

I'm sure they'll allow private video chats. Hangouts is for when you are specifically "browsing". It'll be just as if you lived right down the street from your mother, siblings, aunts, coworkers, friends... It currently is this way in the text world though. That annoying guy who argues with everything you post on Facebook or Twitter. And the worst part is you can't un-friend him because he's your weird uncle.

In Facebook's privacy settings you can specify that your updates are visible to "Everyone; except person X". The annoying guy doesn't see your posts and stays calm, works brilliant.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#242

Post by akkartik » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:14 PM UTC

kristiandupont wrote: post #96

This is exciting and all -- and much as I would love to see a serious competitor to Facebook, I still don't know how I would convince any of my non-techie friends that they should switch to this. Circles? Actually I think that many people like the idea of their posts are being read by as many people as possible and not just the ones with similar interests. Although it looks like a big discussion group, the news feed…

I find I feel a sort of stage fright at the thought of posting something for my 800 facebook 'friends' to read.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#243

Post by ralfd » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:18 PM UTC

afterburner wrote: post #73

cskau wrote: post #5

This thing is pretty neat though: http://www.google.com/intl/en/+/demo/

That's a nice demo, beats a video that I have to sit through. Also, I'm liking the features; it also adds a few points in the 'pro' column for Android phones when I decide on a replacement. (I currently have an iPhone, and while the web version of this stuff might still work, I'm guessing it'll be even neater on Android.)

Google advertises on their site a native iPhone (OS4) App as "very soon". But no native App for Blackberry, WebOS and Windows Phone. For that devices they list a web client.

If Google+ (plus.google? How to spell it?) is a success I am uneasy how much control Google is getting over the whole IT industry.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#244

Post by underwater » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:20 PM UTC

simonw wrote: post #178

""" Oops... you need a Google profile to use this feature. Google Profiles is not available for your organization. """ Grr. Google /really/ need to fix their authentication scheme.

It's frustrating that they don't let you switch for different services. I have my own domain under Google Apps I use for "work stuff" as well as a Gmail account I use for stuff I don't care about.

If I visit YouTube after using my work account I get that crappy error page. There is no reason my YouTube session should be tied to what email account I'm looking at. I don't see why at the very least it can't say: "Hey, you're logged into two accounts, would you like to switch?"

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#245

Post by IgorPartola » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:22 PM UTC

jm4 wrote: post #149

kristiandupont wrote: post #96

This is exciting and all -- and much as I would love to see a serious competitor to Facebook, I still don't know how I would convince any of my non-techie friends that they should switch to this. Circles? Actually I think that many people like the idea of their posts are being read by as many people as possible and not just the ones with similar interests. Although it looks like a big discussion group, the news feed…

Still, it bothers me when it says "logged in" in the google bar at the top because google watches my searches. When I am on facebook I behave like I am in public. I don't hope for the best and write secret stuff anywhere. But with all the google searches I make through a day, I am giving google a lot of very personal information that I would not like anyone to see. I would hate to see something that I was searching f…

The solution is simple: move away from using Google for searches. There are alternatives like Bing, Yahoo and Duck Duck Go.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#246

Post by kaerast » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:27 PM UTC

jm4 wrote: post #149

kristiandupont wrote: post #96

This is exciting and all -- and much as I would love to see a serious competitor to Facebook, I still don't know how I would convince any of my non-techie friends that they should switch to this. Circles? Actually I think that many people like the idea of their posts are being read by as many people as possible and not just the ones with similar interests. Although it looks like a big discussion group, the news feed…

Still, it bothers me when it says "logged in" in the google bar at the top because google watches my searches. When I am on facebook I behave like I am in public. I don't hope for the best and write secret stuff anywhere. But with all the google searches I make through a day, I am giving google a lot of very personal information that I would not like anyone to see. I would hate to see something that I was searching f…

"I really wish someone else had created this."

You mean like any number of startup social networks each year that fail because they can't get the traction which Google is more likely to? It's sad, but that's the way it is - there are innovative and good social networking sites out there, but without the backing that a Google product has they keep failing.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#247

Post by joebadmo » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:28 PM UTC

Lewisham wrote: post #237

joebadmo wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem I see with user-defined groups implementation is conversations. If I share an item with my "work friends" group, and someone replies to it, who can see the reply? Is it only my work friends, or can the replier choose others to expose her reply to? What about people in my work friends list that she doesn't know or follow or is followed by? This already sort of happens in Google Reader. Sometimes I comment…

I'm in the Field Trial. My understanding is that anything in a post can only be seen by the people who can see the post. Thus, if you share with a circle, people who do not know each other can see each others replies. It is all about who you chose to share to in the first place, they are the people you are trusting the information to. I would need to test this more fully, but that is my understanding of it.

That's basically how Google Reader does it, too. The problem is, as you said, if I comment on something someone shared, I have no idea who can see that comment. I was definitely a bit weirded out the first time someone I'd never met replied to a comment of mine on someone else's shared item.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#248

Post by foysavas » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:31 PM UTC

YAWN - Yet Another Way to do Nothing

BTW, thanks for giving up on Google Health. This is way better.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#249

Post by pthatcherg » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:35 PM UTC

IgorPartola wrote: post #245

jm4 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still, it bothers me when it says "logged in" in the google bar at the top because google watches my searches. When I am on facebook I behave like I am in public. I don't hope for the best and write secret stuff anywhere. But with all the google searches I make through a day, I am giving google a lot of very personal information that I would not like anyone to see. I would hate to see something that I was searching f…

The solution is simple: move away from using Google for searches. There are alternatives like Bing, Yahoo and Duck Duck Go.

Don't Yahoo and DDG use Bing for their search results? If so, Bing is the only alternative on your list.

Re: Google Reveals Its Stealth Social Project, Google+

#250

Post by muppetman » Tue, Jun 28, 2011, 9:38 PM UTC

reso wrote: post #232

nextparadigms wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Circles? Actually I think that many people like the idea of their posts are being read by as many people as possible and not just the ones with similar interests." I totally disagree with that. Facebook sorely lacks such a feature, and the lack of it has led to "spammy" messages from so called "friends" you barely even know, or care about in your list. Google+ seems to solve a lot of issues with Facebook. And I thin…

I think Facebook's biggest failure is that they've never educated people on how to use Facebook well, and honestly, they have likely inadvertently encouraged bad practices with their emphasis on growth. For example, why do you have friends on FB you barely know in reality? You should only have your genuine friends on Facebook. This simple rule solves the "annoying status update from someone I don't care about" proble…

I instantly dismiss people who complain about this as morons. Why add people you don't know and _then_ complain about it?

If you only add your actual friends, Facebook is a pretty good experience. It's not perfect, you still have a to block a few apps, but once done it's not a bad place.