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Google+ gets a redesign

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Re: Google+ gets a redesign

#41

Post by ed209 »

mindcrime wrote: post #32
ed209 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the most hotly discussed API feature requests [1] but I'm nervous about it. I don't want my stream filled with junk the way my Facebook stream is. [1] http://code.google.com/p/google-plus-platform/issues/detail?...

I don't want my stream filled with junk the way my Facebook stream is. Me either, but - IMO - the answer to this isn't to leave out the "write API," but rather the answer is to give users better filters and the ability to define their stream to meet their own desires. Of course doing so with a simple and intuitive UI is the tricky part, but hey... those G+ engineers make a lot of money, they should be able to come up…

> they should be able to come up with something, no?

no! :)

Probably the hardest thing in social media is noise filtering via a UI (it's hard for Google, it's hard for Facebook, it's just a hard problem).

For my own (app) selfish reasons, I'd like to see a write api for comments first as that doesn't cause issues on the same scale as writing posts to the stream. Could be a nice place to start.

Re: Google+ gets a redesign

#43

Post by obituary_latte »

jenius wrote: post #9

Yeah I really like this, and I also like how google is not giving up. I do think it has potential, and if google can hit it, it will be huge for the company. I think the piece that's missing is integration from other third party services - I would use my google+ account a lot more if I could post to it from apps I use often like twitter, instagram etc. There's always share to twitter in almost every app, which makes…

Giving up?

This is all just part of the master plan. If/When Facebook implodes, there is already a place set up for everyone to go. Google has the staying power to weather a long lull in usership; there are other properties to support them. Facebook has 1 angle and history shows that to be a dangerous position--one bad decision can bring the whole thing crashing down a-la Digg.

I'm surprised no one seems to see this.

Re: Google+ gets a redesign

#44

Post by dhawalhs »

raldi wrote: post #24
dhawalhs wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I know, Path had done the cover photo thing before Facebook.

What's the "cover photo thing"?

The thing where you get to set a widescreen photo at the top of the profile page. Your profile pic is overlay-ed on top of it.

Re: Google+ gets a redesign

#46

Post by jaysonelliot »

The first thing I have to do when looking at a demo video like this is mute the music so I can actually look at the usability of the interface without the soundtrack trying to tug at my heartstrings.

I find it hard to tell if this is going to be a step in the right direction or not. There are some red flags that go up for me, but it's obviously hard to judge based on descriptions and videos alone.

One of the biggest UX problems with G+ today is the way it handles notifications and conversations. Every event gets a notification, to the point that I rarely see a Google page without some red number in the top right, usually indicating nothing more interesting than "{random user} has added you to their Circles." The signal-to-noise ratio for the notifications is so poor that I've developed notification blindness. I've subconsciously tuned it out, so if someone actually does have something to say to me, I miss it.

Conversations on G+ are also poorly handled today. Because so many things are handled in the notification overlay, they all have to live in a narrow band on the right that is very hard to process visually. Whether in an overlay or on Plus itself, conversations are difficult to follow with their collapsed views and lack of adequate visual cues for the reader's attention.

I'm intrigued by the "Conversation Cards" that are mentioned on the redesign announcement, but the fact that they don't warrant their own demo video leads me to suspect that Google hasn't considered the usability of their conversations to be a top priority.

One last red flag for me is the customizable "navigation ribbon." It's an adage in UX that when you see an interface that asks the user to customize the layout, it means the designers gave up trying to find the right solution themselves. I'm not saying it can never work, but it is a red flag for me here.

I hope the new G+ is a big step forward. I've been wanting to love Google Plus since it first arrived. At least they're devoted to G+, and they're staying hungry.

Re: Google+ gets a redesign

#48

Post by RobAtticus »

obituary_latte wrote: post #43
jenius wrote: post #9

Yeah I really like this, and I also like how google is not giving up. I do think it has potential, and if google can hit it, it will be huge for the company. I think the piece that's missing is integration from other third party services - I would use my google+ account a lot more if I could post to it from apps I use often like twitter, instagram etc. There's always share to twitter in almost every app, which makes…

Giving up? This is all just part of the master plan. If/When Facebook implodes, there is already a place set up for everyone to go. Google has the staying power to weather a long lull in usership; there are other properties to support them. Facebook has 1 angle and history shows that to be a dangerous position--one bad decision can bring the whole thing crashing down a-la Digg. I'm surprised no one seems to see this.

I'm not saying Facebook is here to stay and has nothing to worry about, but Digg is a pretty poor comparison. What does it take for someone to switch news aggregators? Pretty much nothing. I just need to find another site that has links/discussion I find interesting.

What does it take for someone to switch to another social network? Actually quite a bit. One, I want my friends to be there too. That alone is pretty difficult, and a common complaint with G+.

But I think the real roadblock is probably photos. People love their photos. Can you imagine the work some people would have to do just to move that all to a new network? Some people I know have thousands of photos of themselves, and have posted thousands of photos. That is no small task. It helps keep people tied to Facebook, in my opinion.

Certainly I think Facebook could be usurped, but I don't think it's trivial and it is probably going to require some competitor finding a good way to help someone move their social life (i.e. photos and friends) trivially.

Re: Google+ gets a redesign

#50

Post by instakill »

jbigelow76 wrote: post #42
instakill wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where does this come from? It's on the tip of my tongue...

Soylent Green - "It's people!" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070723/ (not sure if you were being sarcastic)

I wasn't. I've heard a reference to it elsewhere too. Oh well.
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