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Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

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Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#51

Post by WesleyJohnson »

aristidb wrote: post #30

Well. I added Markus Persson (aka Notch, of Minecraft fame) to my Following circle, and... his posts are always bumped to the top of the stream because so many people comment on them. Posts can also take up a lot of space when there are attached pictures/videos and comments. So Twitter has these huge advantages that everything is streamlined and kept short. Google+ does not; and it's not really necessary if you don't…

They're working on the issue of popular posts getting more or less "pinned" to the top of your stream.

Google Software Engineer Kelly Ellis on the subject... https://plus.google.com/108159551615224338529/posts/hrCkgmko...

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#52

Post by rooshdi »

nextparadigms wrote: post #9
rooshdi wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't you get the same thing by searching Google News?

I've never really used or liked Google News interface. But they said Google News is just a part of it, since they also show blogs, videos, etc

But they said Google News is just a part of it, since they also show blogs, videos, etc

Google's search result pages have options to search blogs, videos, realtime, etc too. Seems like they just integrated this functionality into Plus.

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#53

Post by losvedir »

macrael wrote: post #39
mcrittenden wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is something similar available on Google+? Yes, you can add someone to your circles without them doing the same to you. There's even a default circle called "Following" for "People that you don't know but find their posts interesting" (i.e., basically the same thing as following famous people on Twitter). > Are your posts required to be directed toward a specific circle? Sort of. They can be directed at any combina…

So by adding someone to one of my circles, I'm automatically added to their "Following" circle? It seems like you mean the opposite, that I would put someone I don't know really well into my "Following" circle, but that still means that I don't get a feed of their postings, right? Unless, as someone else mentioned, they set their post to "public", does that post then show up for everyone who has the poster in their c…

You seem to have it mostly right, but to clear up some confusion:

There's basically two directions to consider.

Your circles are for your outgoing posts. When you post something, you choose which circles are allowed to see it (or you could choose individual people, or "Public").

On the flip side, your circles inform your incoming news stream. By putting someone in any of your circles, you basically say, "I could be interested in what they say."

What appears in your stream, then, are posts in the intersection of the two: from someone in one of your circles, and to a circle of theirs that they put you in.

So to answer your original question: Google+ can operate in the Twitter modality exactly. You put someone in any circle ("Following", by convention), and then any posts they make to "Public" will appear in your stream. The difference is that the person you're following doesn't have to direct all his posts to "Public". He or she could send some to specific groups of people, which you wouldn't receive.

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#54

Post by zbanks »

ender7 wrote: post #13

There is one thing that Google+ currently lacks that both Twitter and Facebook have: Like us on Facebook! facebook.com/ProductFoo Follow us on Twitter! @ProductFoo In G+'s (hypothetical, since they haven't done it yet) case, neither the phrase nor the url are as catchy or memorable: +1 us on Google! plus.google.com/ProductFoo

They already have this, but it's a bit hidden.

They're replacing the @ with +, which really ties the whole service together quite nicely (while integrating +1's as well).

Your example would use +ProductFoo, for example. If you are writing a G+ post, if you type +, it will prompt for suggestions, much like Facebook does with @.

I'm surprised it's not highlighted by Google, but they do mention it, buried in the help (which is very nicely laid out, if not hidden).

http://www.google.com/support/profiles/bin/static.py?page=gu...

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#55

Post by esrauch »

hollerith wrote: post #32
nprincigalli wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tried with this workaround: Create a circle, add a person to it, then share some content in the circle. Everyone who isn't yet member of Google+ gets an invite. Let us know if it's still working.

When about an hour ago, someone to whom I sent an invite clicked on the big orange button in the email, they got a page telling them, "Already invited? We've temporarily exceeded our capacity. Please try again soon."

They are rate limiting new sign ups. The person doesn't need to get a new invite, they just have to try the invite again later.

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#56

Post by Leynos »

msbarnett wrote: post #47

> For a long time now, Twitter’s proponents have argued that Twitter’s 140 character limit was an advantage. It keeps posts brief and to the point. Once you use Google+ for a bit, though, you come to realize that those constraints are really just annoying at the end – and likely hard to explain to a mainstream user anyway. I have to say, I really disagree with that one. I didn't truly appreciate the value of the 140…

I actually think Facebook got the balance right. 400 characters (approx) of unformatted in the default status updates, and a notes function (which can optionally be configured to import an external web log) that needs to be accessed through a separate user interface.

Facebook statuses are long enough that you can actually say something meaningful without allowing you to ramble on for too long.

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#57

Post by JacobAldridge »

kristofferR wrote: post #38
aristidb wrote: post #30

Well. I added Markus Persson (aka Notch, of Minecraft fame) to my Following circle, and... his posts are always bumped to the top of the stream because so many people comment on them. Posts can also take up a lot of space when there are attached pictures/videos and comments. So Twitter has these huge advantages that everything is streamlined and kept short. Google+ does not; and it's not really necessary if you don't…

Why was crb's really useful post marked as dead?

Looks like crb's account has been hellbanned, dating back to this comment (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2470300) which seems to have attracted a lot of downvotes.

CRB - worth emailing pg or other administrators requesting re-instatement (sorry I don't have an actual address or details for that, perhaps someone else can point you in the right direction).

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#58

Post by aristidb »

JacobAldridge wrote: post #57
kristofferR wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was crb's really useful post marked as dead?

Looks like crb's account has been hellbanned, dating back to this comment ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2470300 ) which seems to have attracted a lot of downvotes. CRB - worth emailing pg or other administrators requesting re-instatement (sorry I don't have an actual address or details for that, perhaps someone else can point you in the right direction).

Wow, getting hellbanned for making a joke about Portal. That's... not right. (The comment itself did deserve getting downvoted though.)

Re: Why Twitter Should be Very Worried about Google+

#59

Post by JacobAldridge »

aristidb wrote: post #58
JacobAldridge wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like crb's account has been hellbanned, dating back to this comment ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2470300 ) which seems to have attracted a lot of downvotes. CRB - worth emailing pg or other administrators requesting re-instatement (sorry I don't have an actual address or details for that, perhaps someone else can point you in the right direction).

Wow, getting hellbanned for making a joke about Portal. That's... not right. (The comment itself did deserve getting downvoted though.)

I suspect it's an automatic function when a comment reaches a certain number of downvotes. In this case it may also highlight an issue with not showing points- many people may have thought it warranted downvoting, but some may have not clicked had they been aware it was already showing the max of -4.?

I know I get the flipside often- comments that may warrant a few upvotes get 20 because we've lost the 'feels about right' element of scores. Of course, I can't fault the converse 'vote on its merits' argument.

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