12/2/11
10/1/11
Some page updates
I have added a Google+ icon to the page. I have also added rates so you can rate the posts, and a You might like... bit.
9/30/11
What happens if you do not use your real name
After a few days or weeks if you log in, you will get this message:
Once you change your name, you get this message:
Google+: Source code reveals unannounced features?
Code junkie Matt Mastracci discovers new features that Google+ hasn’t released yet. If he is correct, Google is ready to step it up with fixes, new features, and user experience improvements to stay competitive with Facebook.
Now that Google+ is off to a much better start at being a key player in the social network space, they know that they need to work fast to fix any issues, address concerns and add new features as quickly as possible to make their offering competitive against the behemoth that is Facebook. It’s hard to guess which features and tweaks they are going to roll out next. Sometimes however, web companies leave themselves exposed during the iterative development process. Hackers and web application engineers have ways of figuring things out, sometimes only having to use the “View Source” option in their web browser.
Recently, one such code junkie named Matt Mastracci (@mmastrac on Twitter), was trying to gain early access to Google+’s new circle-sharing feature and inadvertently came across what appears to be some possible features that have yet to be announced and released to the public.
The Google+ “Wall”
Not a lot to go on here as most of the code has been obfuscated but the first one he talks about is the Google+ equivalent of writing on someone’s Facebook Wall, where users can write or post content on the walls of individual profiles without it showing up in the timelines of the other users:
Google Experts
The next chunk of code reveals something that might be Google’s answer to Quora. In this next snippet you’ll see references to the phrase “Google Experts,” where questions can be posted, Google+ users can add other user names to questions in the same way you can now in your posts, comment threads, etc.
Also in the above piece, Matt says it’s apparent that they are possibly testing this feature out right now to make sure that it works correctly on the Google Apps domains. So somewhere, somehow, it might be accessible to see it in action. Unfortunately, he didn’t get that far but I’m interested to see what this looks like!
Privacy Controls
After all the damage control that Facebook has had to deal with over privacy issues, Google would be stupid to not make this an extremely high priority. It backfired on them big time with Google Buzz so they got a little taste of not only how serious the public takes this issue, but also how users don’t forget these mistakes and continue to talk about these screw ups online for weeks and months on end on Twitter, Facebook and their own blogs. Learning from those lessons, Google has some sort of privacy control pane in development to help you streamline your privacy settings easily. Matt was able to get this privacy wizard to pop up on his profile page with some code manipulation.
Google Voice Integration
The last, but certainly not least, feature addition is the integration of Google Voice to the Google+ platform. Matt isn’t totally sure how this is gonna look but at a quick glance his guess is that you’ll be able dial people right off of a web page without being able to see their actual phone number.
The race is on
It’s clear that Google is really starting to realize what they are up against. One of their biggest challenges is that they are developing all these technologies in-house. The upside to that approach is that it can be tested and very efficiently integrated into their other product offerings. The downside is that each new feature they add will yield yet another layer of learning curve with no customer base brought in with whatever the new feature is. (like Netflix, Skype, and Spotify did).
The social network competition is going start heating up big time now that Facebook may actually have some real competition in the coming months. Google is going to have to pay extra special attention to where Facebook is headed next. They would also be smart to monitor closely, conversations across the social-sphere about Facebook, listening to people’s complaints, desires for new features, and just the overall experience.
Click here for the original article at zdnet.com
Now that Google+ is off to a much better start at being a key player in the social network space, they know that they need to work fast to fix any issues, address concerns and add new features as quickly as possible to make their offering competitive against the behemoth that is Facebook. It’s hard to guess which features and tweaks they are going to roll out next. Sometimes however, web companies leave themselves exposed during the iterative development process. Hackers and web application engineers have ways of figuring things out, sometimes only having to use the “View Source” option in their web browser.
Recently, one such code junkie named Matt Mastracci (@mmastrac on Twitter), was trying to gain early access to Google+’s new circle-sharing feature and inadvertently came across what appears to be some possible features that have yet to be announced and released to the public.
The Google+ “Wall”
Not a lot to go on here as most of the code has been obfuscated but the first one he talks about is the Google+ equivalent of writing on someone’s Facebook Wall, where users can write or post content on the walls of individual profiles without it showing up in the timelines of the other users:
Google Experts
The next chunk of code reveals something that might be Google’s answer to Quora. In this next snippet you’ll see references to the phrase “Google Experts,” where questions can be posted, Google+ users can add other user names to questions in the same way you can now in your posts, comment threads, etc.
Also in the above piece, Matt says it’s apparent that they are possibly testing this feature out right now to make sure that it works correctly on the Google Apps domains. So somewhere, somehow, it might be accessible to see it in action. Unfortunately, he didn’t get that far but I’m interested to see what this looks like!
Privacy Controls
After all the damage control that Facebook has had to deal with over privacy issues, Google would be stupid to not make this an extremely high priority. It backfired on them big time with Google Buzz so they got a little taste of not only how serious the public takes this issue, but also how users don’t forget these mistakes and continue to talk about these screw ups online for weeks and months on end on Twitter, Facebook and their own blogs. Learning from those lessons, Google has some sort of privacy control pane in development to help you streamline your privacy settings easily. Matt was able to get this privacy wizard to pop up on his profile page with some code manipulation.
Google Voice Integration
The last, but certainly not least, feature addition is the integration of Google Voice to the Google+ platform. Matt isn’t totally sure how this is gonna look but at a quick glance his guess is that you’ll be able dial people right off of a web page without being able to see their actual phone number.
The race is on
It’s clear that Google is really starting to realize what they are up against. One of their biggest challenges is that they are developing all these technologies in-house. The upside to that approach is that it can be tested and very efficiently integrated into their other product offerings. The downside is that each new feature they add will yield yet another layer of learning curve with no customer base brought in with whatever the new feature is. (like Netflix, Skype, and Spotify did).
The social network competition is going start heating up big time now that Facebook may actually have some real competition in the coming months. Google is going to have to pay extra special attention to where Facebook is headed next. They would also be smart to monitor closely, conversations across the social-sphere about Facebook, listening to people’s complaints, desires for new features, and just the overall experience.
Click here for the original article at zdnet.com
Hang out with the Black Eyed Peas on Google+
Google+ users will be able to hang out with the Black Eyed Peas. A message saying "Hang out with the Black Eyed Peas on Google+ right before they go on stage. Tonight at 11pm." appeared on Google. The link takes you to will.i.ams Google+ page. He recently posted:
"50thousand people in central park...
lets see how many people will join in on the backstage and onstage hangout...lets re-define concerts, interaction, webcam'n, lets have fun..."
and
"lets have fun at the backstage hangout...we even have a hangout onstage as well...
i want to re-define backstage interaction with fans who can not make the show...i think this will be the very first online backstage onstage web cam session...
"i like doing things 1st" "
The message:
"50thousand people in central park...
lets see how many people will join in on the backstage and onstage hangout...lets re-define concerts, interaction, webcam'n, lets have fun..."
and
"lets have fun at the backstage hangout...we even have a hangout onstage as well...
i want to re-define backstage interaction with fans who can not make the show...i think this will be the very first online backstage onstage web cam session...
"i like doing things 1st" "
9/29/11
How to go on Google+ with a browser that is not supported?
If you log on to Google+ and you get this message:
That means your browser is not supported. What you have to do is approach Google Plus from a different direction. For example a Google+ profile. It will still warn you that your browser configuration is not supported, but you will be able to go on Google+.
Google+ Supported Browsers
Google+ is supported in the following browsers:
This is what the help page looks like:
- Windows: Chrome, Firefox 3.6 and beyond, Internet Explorer 8 and beyond
- Linux: Chrome, Firefox 3.6 and beyond
- Mac: Chrome, Firefox 3.6 and beyond, Safari 4 and beyond
This is what the help page looks like:
If you log in to Google Plus with a browser that is not supported, you will get this message:
The Google+ Sign-in page
Just thought I would post an image of the sign in page, just in case someone needs it for something.
Click on images to enlarge.
Click on images to enlarge.
9/28/11
9/25/11
Google Plus vs Facebook - and the winner is Chuck Norris
9/22/11
Google+ is Exploding. Millions Joining Daily. 30% Increase in Users in last 2 days.
Paul Allen posted this on his Google+ profile about 3 hours ago:
My team just completed a new round of counting Google+ users by surname. And I have updated my model. Our sampling of 400 uncommon surnames in the U.S. also reflects usage in many other countries, since the list of 400 includes names that are popular in India, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, and many other countries.
In the past couple of days, since Google opened its doors to the general public over age 18, the growth rate has skyrocketed to rates we only saw during the first week of its "field test" -- back when it had a small number of users to begin with, the growth rates were of course much higher.
But when I checked the data this morning, it is clear that Google+ is absolutely exploding -- 30% growth in just 2 days and with a base of nearly 30 million members already.
Here are my latest estimates:
On September 9, our model showed 28.7 million users
This morning, our model shows 37.8 million users, with most of the growth coming in the last 2 days
By adding a fudge factor (see below) to account for private user profiles and for non-Roman surnames (both of which are totally overlooked by our surname counting model), my current estimate is 43.4 million users
The timing on Google+ opening up to the public is interesting. Facebook has made a ton of UI changes this week and is holding it's F8 Developers Conference today - in fact it is just staring now. According to a survey this week by Mashable, 72.2% of Facebook users hate the recent UI changes, including the News Feed redesign. Twitter's stream was filled with complaints yesterday about Facebook under the hashtag #newfacebook.
Google is a company that has had the incredible discipline for more than a decade to use a very simple, minimalist design on its home page along with a long search box to encourage longer queries. Changes to home page links are very infrequent. The popularity of its home page never led Google to turn itself into a portal, with hundreds of links and a few lucrative ads. Given that discipline, I think the tens of millions of people who will be signing up for and using Google+ will find that changes here will be very well thought out, very iterative, very carefully tested, and won't be nearly as jarring as the changes that have been made at other social networks. Google is not in a rush to change the world. They are on a steady course to do so.
Notes about My "Fudge Factor":
My earlier model (see links below) which proved to be very accurate in the first 2-3 weeks, did not address either private profiles or non-Roman alphabet. According to FindPeopleOnPlus.com, there are substantial numbers of users from countries like Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, and many other countries, which my surname counting approach does not include. So I have decided to add a 5% privacy fudge factor and a 10% non-Roman alphabet fudge factor in my Google+ model. I'll need to develop a way to actually calculate those percentages somehow, rather than just guess on them.
For reference, here are my earlier posts on this subject:
*Google+ passes 10 million users on 7/12: http://bit.ly/pduDrG*
*4.5 million estimate on 7/9 (actually 12:15ish on 7/10): http://bit.ly/qUAxzt*
*1.7 million estimate on 7/4: http://bit.ly/pFm7oP*
Google+ hangouts with extras is freaking awesome! Added features Screen sharing, Sketchpad, Shared notes & Google docs!
One of the hottest and most used feature in Google+ social network is Google+ hangouts. To spice up further, google+ team is introducing quite a lot of features that are only found in paid commercial tools, absolutely free for Google+ users.
These new features are available as preview features (still in development) bundled and called as Google+ hangouts with extras.
Here are some of the notable features
* Screen sharing / Desktop sharing – Now when you are hosting an hangout, you can share your screen or a window and present to the hangout participants
* Google Doc’s integration – You can share a google document with hangout participants and collaboratively edit with other participants (Similar functionality of Google Wave now with video and audio interactiveness)
* Shared notes – Collaboratively take notes as the hangout proceeds
* Shared sketchpad or scratchpad – Collaboratively draw diagrams with hangout participants
* Named Hangouts – Name your hangouts, easy for sharing
Interested in trying or using these new features? All you have to do is, Start a new hangout by clicking on Start a hangout button in your Google+ page. In the following hangout screen look for the link Try Hangouts with extras to preview new features (refer image below). (Note: You must click on the link to launch the hangout with extras not the hangout button to try the new features.)
We tried all these new hangouts extras feature today with our team and they all worked flawlessly (remember these features are in preview mode). However there were some minor usability issues while using screen sharing mode. While screen sharing, it doesn’t show the presenter instead it replaced his view with the screen (can’t see the presenter). In another instance it worked perfectly fine with the shared screen took over majority of the real estate and each of the participants appeared in small viewports on the right. Since it is in preview mode, we’re pretty sure Google+ team is working on issues and enhancements.
For a small startup like us with teams spread across the planet, these tools are a God send. These new features combined with existing features takes socializing to a whole new level combined with greater productivity.
Click here for the original article at google-plus.com
These new features are available as preview features (still in development) bundled and called as Google+ hangouts with extras.
Here are some of the notable features
* Screen sharing / Desktop sharing – Now when you are hosting an hangout, you can share your screen or a window and present to the hangout participants
* Google Doc’s integration – You can share a google document with hangout participants and collaboratively edit with other participants (Similar functionality of Google Wave now with video and audio interactiveness)
* Shared notes – Collaboratively take notes as the hangout proceeds
* Shared sketchpad or scratchpad – Collaboratively draw diagrams with hangout participants
* Named Hangouts – Name your hangouts, easy for sharing
We tried all these new hangouts extras feature today with our team and they all worked flawlessly (remember these features are in preview mode). However there were some minor usability issues while using screen sharing mode. While screen sharing, it doesn’t show the presenter instead it replaced his view with the screen (can’t see the presenter). In another instance it worked perfectly fine with the shared screen took over majority of the real estate and each of the participants appeared in small viewports on the right. Since it is in preview mode, we’re pretty sure Google+ team is working on issues and enhancements.
For a small startup like us with teams spread across the planet, these tools are a God send. These new features combined with existing features takes socializing to a whole new level combined with greater productivity.
Click here for the original article at google-plus.com
Google+ is open to all - but not under 18s
Today is a big day, because finally Google+ is open to everybody (except from under 18s). A message on google.com says: Thanks for waiting. Google+ is open to all! Join now. The only thing I am disappointed about is that it is not open for under 18s. There were lots of questions about this as well. I know some people think it should not be open for under 18s. I saw a comment on a Yahoo answers page saying ¨Facebook used to be cool when it was a college-only thing...then Mark opened it up to everyone and it went downhill dramatically¨. I have asked the question on Yahoo Answers as well and someone answered:
¨Only after Beta is over and Child Control Settings are in place will it be released to minors. Till then it is their policy as they have no child control filters in place currently they do not wish to allow under age users to use the site.
G+ was expected to have a open release date in August, now expect maybe early september ¨
(This was about a month ago)
What do you think?
¨Only after Beta is over and Child Control Settings are in place will it be released to minors. Till then it is their policy as they have no child control filters in place currently they do not wish to allow under age users to use the site.
G+ was expected to have a open release date in August, now expect maybe early september ¨
(This was about a month ago)
What do you think?
9/21/11
9/13/11
G+7: Free Google Plus Desktop Gadget For Windows 7
G+7 is a free google plus gadget for windows 7 which displays your google plus streams and updates on your desktop.With G+7 you can only view your stream there is no option to update your status.you can adjust the size of the gadget by selecting predefined sizes.when you click any feed you will get detailed view of that post.
Click here to download G+7
Click here to download G+7
Google Plus Tips : Lock an Album from Further Resharing
Google Plus has rolled out a new update to improve the sharing of photos. The negative aspect of having the ability of sharing of photos is that once a photo has been shared by you, you cannot limit people from sharing it further, which can cause the photo to land up with someone you never wanted to share with.
This new feature rolled out by Google+ limits the sharing of your photos by allowing you to lock an album, which limits further resharing of the same. You can lock an album from two places :
Your Photos page, or
Album posts in the Stream
When you lock an album, what happens is:
Viewers won’t be able to +mention new people
Photo tags by viewers won’t expand who can see your album
All of your posts about your album will also be locked
How to Lock an Album from your Photos Page:
- Click Your albums and then click on the album you’d like to lock.
- Click on “Visible to” option to see who can currently view the album (e.g. Limited)
- Check the Lock this album box (option saves to “Locked Album” immediately after you check it).
- HitSave
How to Lock from an Album Post in the Stream:
- Find the post with the album you want to lock
- Choose Lock this post from the drop-down menu located at the top right
You can verify both the cases by the presence of “Locked” option on that album and stream as shown below :
Click here for the original article at survivalguide4idiots.com
9/12/11
Google Plus Tips: Invite Friends on Google Plus using link
On this Friendship day , Google Plus have made it much easier to invite your friends to join Google Plus. In the beta phase of the Google Plus , to invite friends either you need to enter their email id or can invite them using suggestion provided by Google Plus based on your contact list. At times it happens that you don’t remember the email id of a friend and it gets difficult to invite them.
But now you can invite your friends to join Google Plus in this limited field trial by simply using a link.You can send this link to your friends via chat, or can post on your Facebook Wall, share it via your blog/website or any other way you like. Once your friend will click this link, they will be taken to Google Plus home page and pop up message will tell them that you friend Mr. ABC has invited you to join Google Plus.
I posted about this upcoming feature of Google Plus 2 days ago on my Google Plus Profile. You can follow me on Google Plus to get similar updates on Google Plus features.
How to invite friends on Google Plus using link?
To use this new feature , you just need to click the “Invite friends” option on the right sidebar of your Google Plus profile.
1. Invite people by email
This option was also present during the beta launch of Google +. You just need to email id of your friends to invite them to join Google Plus.
2. Invite People using Link
Share the link provided in the box with your friends and ask them to join Google Plus. This feature rolled out today currently limits invitation upto 150 friends per user.
We have noticed the competition between 2 giants i.e. Google Plus Vs Facebook and while Facebook is rolling out new features at a faster pace , Google Plus is also adding new updates to its limited trial.
Click here for the original article at survivalguide4idiots.com
Google Plus Tips : How to Delete Your +1 Recommendation ?
It is possible to withdraw a +1 recommendation if you think you made it by mistake or you don’t think you should be recommending a particular webpage or product any longer. When a web page or a product gets a lot of +1 recommendations, it gives hint to readers that the content or product is reliable and liked by readers.
Deleting +1 recommendation has been made easier by the launch of Google Plus. There are many other ways to delete your +1 recommendation, but in this post we will cover the easiest way to delete your +1 recommendation. All you have to do is follow a few simple steps and you are all set:
1. Logon to your Google Plus profile.
2. Below your name you will find +1′s
3. Click on +1′s and it will list your recent +1s
4. If you would like to delete your +1 recommendation, just click the X button at the right. If you happen to delete a +1 by mistake, you have the option to undo your last action.
Google Plus Tips : How to Change Your Display Name in Google Plus
Display Name in Google Plus is the name which you would like others to see in your Google+ profile. So, if you want to change your display name in Google Plus, it is also possible. Having the ability to change your display name gives you the flexibility to keep your profile private.
How to change your display name in Google Plus
If you want to change your display name in Google Plus, follow the steps mentioned below:
1. Logon to Google Plus
2. Click your name at the top right corner and in the drop down menu, select profile.
3. Click Edit Profile and click on your name
4. Once you click on your name a popup window will open and give you an option to change your name. Change your display name in Google Plus and hit Save.
5. Your display name in Google Plus has been updated. Please note that your actual profile ID will remain the same even after your change the display name. Link to your Google Plus Profile will be something like https://plus.google.com/109422257233474861202
Click here for the original article at survivalguide4idiots.com
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