If Google is going to be launching a social network called "Circles" in the near future, I think they would launch it tomorrow, because tomorrow is Pi Day. (This is meant in all seriousness, Google seems to enjoy small flourishes like that in general, and it would fit with their company culture.)
Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
111–120 of 129 posts
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't know if Google really gets social. You really need an addictive core product that people are dying to spend hours and hours on. Can Google really make a social networking product that goes viral with teens and college students (and then others)? I wouldn't bet on Google developing a social hit internally. I think their best bet might be acquisition of something that's already taking off, like FourSquare of Inst…
It's amazing that they can't succeed despite their foothold. Everyone in my age group whom I know uses Gmail and uses chat on the Google Talk network. Almost no one uses Google Reader or Google Buzz.
No one uses Google Reader? Is that in general, or among people who understand and use RSS?
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#113Fail, fail, fail until you succeed; I really like Google's resolve when it comes to breaking into social networking. I guess I also like any serious challenge to Facebook. Can't wait for the details.
Its so true, i really would quit facebook today if there were an alternative...
You switch and some other day you hear google abandon it.
Edit: too soon, http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2320224
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's amazing that they can't succeed despite their foothold. Everyone in my age group whom I know uses Gmail and uses chat on the Google Talk network. Almost no one uses Google Reader or Google Buzz.
No one uses Google Reader? Is that in general, or among people who understand and use RSS?
Among my friends who work at Google and are avid consumers of RSS feeds, all hate Google Reader. In fact, I heard murmurs about how incompetent the Reader team is/was and how it's not up to snuff compared to other products.
I use it, but I hate it. I'm just too lazy to find something better and port my feeds over.
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, the name "Circles" is awesome. It's agressive and appealing when seen from the perspective of "what do you offer that's better than Facebook", but also generically pleasant if you just encountered it as a product.
I'm positive it'll just be a matter of time before "Sphere" rolls out.
Perhaps MonkeySphere, which begins ejecting least-touched contacts once you hit 100.
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
it needs to be brain-dead easy for the average user or they won't even waste their time on it. A good chunk of the test users are average users, they're friends and family that I've roped into testing for me. I've been using their feedback to improve the software. I'm doing a lot of work on the UI/UX in order to "train" users for the conventions of distributed social networking. Obvious things like tutorials and FAQ'…
"For now, no, it's still being developed. There will be many sites, some catering to niche audiences" This is the same problem I've seen with other open source projects (and even Linux). There are just too many choices and people don't know what site to use, so they just use something else. Appleseed could work if it became a platform, like email, where ISPS give you a page (and anybody could host their own), and the…
Appleseed is a platform. It's a combination of a social framework you can build upon and a protocol that can be implemented in other projects.
The goal is for most people to use Appleseed without ever knowing what Appleseed is, much in the way people use the web without realizing that their web server is Linux + Apache.
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#117I think a social network that has the ability for friend groups / circles is way over due. Will be interested to see this!
From what I understand, The Fridge (YC S10) has been providing this ability for a while: http://www.frid.ge/
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#118Google faces two major obstacles in its social networking ambitions: an implementation problem, and a brand problem. On the implementation side, their previous offerings have not been compelling. On the brand side, people generally aren't eager to see Google's reach over their personal lives extended. That is, even if the implementation were compelling, the prospect of Big Google getting bigger, at least in the arena of gathering personal information, appeals to no one outside of Google. This parallels the growth of Microsoft's negative brand equity a decade and a half earlier. No one wanted to see a bigger Microsoft. The privacy guarantees alluded to in the original article make it clear that Google is intent on addressing both issues, yet I remain skeptical. Culturally, I don't see Google having individual privacy or freedom from tracking/slicing and dicing as core values. Eric Schmidt's indiscreet comments last year were more telling.
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#119Interesting, but we already have Facebook groups, Diaspora, Frid.ge, I even developed my own site to solve this problem last year, Buddify. What exactly is new here other than social group separation? Speaking from experience in this field, I'm certain this won't take off, it's very difficult to gain traction with a new social network in an age where facebook is still growing at a steady pace. Unless I'm missing some…
Facebook fatigue is growing at a rapid pace. Just because all my friends are on facebook doesn't mean facebook is a great app - I actually think it's pretty terrible (design, functionality, of course privacy settings, etc), it's just the first app to really implement an activity feed. The barrier to entry in this space may not be as large as it seems.
Re: Google to Launch Major New Social Network Called Circles, Possibly Today
#120Fail, fail, fail until you succeed; I really like Google's resolve when it comes to breaking into social networking. I guess I also like any serious challenge to Facebook. Can't wait for the details.
Don't know if Google really gets social. You really need an addictive core product that people are dying to spend hours and hours on. Can Google really make a social networking product that goes viral with teens and college students (and then others)? I wouldn't bet on Google developing a social hit internally. I think their best bet might be acquisition of something that's already taking off, like FourSquare of Inst…
Why is it necessary that the product demand "hours and hours"? I don't have a Facebook account because I simply see no need to be bombarded with invitations, connections, "friends", etc.
I specifically WANT something people just use to stay connected in a way they find palatable. Almost by definition anything that people obsess over will never have me as a member.
I can't be the only one.