Tags
beta, geek, google, google plus, lady ozma, social media, tech
Happy Social Media Day! That’s right all you web 2.0 types… it’s Mashable’s Social Media Day! Fun!
So what are you doing? (Mafia Wars and Farmville totally count though why you aren’t playing Gardens of Time, I’ll never know!)
Me? I’m playing with the newest social media toy out there – Google+!
You can see Google+ in my web browser as well as using the app on my Xoom. Looks nice!
Are you really surprised? You already knew I was Batgirl. You know I have to get on things early. You know I’m a total Google lackey. Getting in on Google+ right after it was announced? Totally par for the course here in Oztopia!
So what is Google+ for those of you living under rocks and not visiting Google 830000000000000 times a day? Think Facebook – by Google. It fits snugly right into your Gmail, has it’s own page, allows for status updates and chats, photo sharing, and all of that.
But, you already have Facebook, I know. I mean it took you forever just to agree to that. But this is great. It really thinks about your social media and how you might want to access it.
Think about it. Facebook seems to think your 672 friends are all one big huge group of friends. Right? Which is why I keep getting friend recommendations by Facebook for people I’ve never heard of in states I’ve never set foot in. All because I know someone who knows someone who knows someone.
Well, Google realized that no, we have our circles of people. Sure, sometimes those circles cross over, but not always. Church friends, school friends, work friends, neighbourhood friends, and family. These are not always people who interface with one another. And maybe some want to know that you are anxiously awaiting your high school reunion, but not everyone.
Enter Google+. Now your friends can go into little circles. Think of the old cell phone commercials! You got it! You can add Bob from work that lives on your street in your “work” and your “hood” circle if you want. You can post about your high school reunion to your school buds, but your boss won’t get that update. Share with only the people you want to share with.
Hate having to go through the process of telling your phone to upload that photo to Twitter? There’s a feature to upload photos and video automatically when you take it. Rest assured, Google CLAIMS that this goes into a private folder and you can later choose who to share it with. Consider altering that setting though if you are concerned about your own not-so-private Weiner-gate. Please, we all beg of you!
Huddle! That’s right. It’s like texting, but free. For a crowd. Trying to decide where to go for dinner or what movie to see? You can huddle and figure it out, even if you are miles apart.
Hang out? That’s right! Video chat with up to ten people at once. You can lock this down to circles or make them public. I think this would be fantastic for families. Set up a “hang out” session with your family circle and they can all pop in! I’m sure that will be great for Empty Nesters. No more weekly conference call!
Sparks seem interesting to me. It’s like a search string for your favorite things. You tell it an interest, and when you click, you see web hits. You can easily share them if you like. Since they show up on your sidebar, it’s easy to find them again.
I see a lot of functionality with Google+. Of course, right now, it’s limited to those lucky few that got early invites. Like yours truly. Especially since it integrates so well with Google and they are slowly taking over the whole interwebs. You can easily see your updates or set a status with the new black bar on Google’s page or in your email. There’s apps for all the Android devices with a promise of iPad coming soon. Google gives you documents, blogging, searching, buying, you name it.
Is Google+ the Facebook Killer? Who knows. It is innovative and looks like a million bucks. Now, I’m gonna go back and play in the sandbox. I’d invite you in, but sorry, Daddy grounded me and said no more friends for now.
–Lady O
Lady Ozma's Journey 
I can use Mobile Google+ in the stock Xoom browser but every time I switch to Desktop Google+ it shows up for a few seconds then the browser disappears without a force close or anything.
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Wow that is strange. Last night I used the browser and switched to desktop so I could share something. It worked like a charm. Is your browser up to date? You should really try the App. Other than not letting you share something someone else posts, it works great. 🙂
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I’ve used the app but there is so much more in Desktop browser, firewalled in record time from my office. It works OK in Firefox.
Running UK Honeycomb 3.01, Motorola say 3.1 on its way but they are notoriously slow.
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Maybe it is your honeycomb then. I’m in the US and it works like a charm here. But I’ve noticed all the updates are slow, even here in the states. I can’t even tell you how long I waited for froyo on my phone. Which is what I’m STILL running. Hello upgrade? Geeze.
I’ve been pretty happy with the app. It doesn’t allow the “hang out”, but gives you huddle. That makes sense to me. The biggest thing was I wanted to share a link someone else had posted, but I pulled that up in the Android stock browser on the Xoom and when the mobile site didn’t work popped it to desktop and voile! 🙂
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There are many issues with 3.01 and almost unanimously non-US users thought the Xoom was a Google Experience Device and we would get global updates but as usual Motorola have managed to create a convoluted array of localised devices despite all using stock Honeycomb. This is the first experience I have had of the browser issues reported by many others, hopefully when we get 3.1 by Christmas this will be a thing of the past.
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I have come to the realization that as much as we claim “world wide” and blah blah blah… things do not work well out of their native country. Grrr. If we’re going to be a global community, they need to improve these things. Why on earth would Motorola do this? Oh right, because they can. Bleh. That’s a shame. I really do hope that you get an upgrade soon. But it took FOREVER for my 3.1 to come. But that’s what i get for buying something hot off the presses. 🙂 Glad you aren’t experiencing problems as frequently as others. Have you tried other browsers? I like Dolphin a lot, especially on my Droid. I’ve been trying SkyFire on the Xoom, but am not “sold” yet. Thank goodness it was free!
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I think they were cheapskates on the radio. The Nexus S updates are global and I’ve used the phone in Europe and South America, reckon Motorola just used cheaper radios supporting only the required local frequencies and no more. The time taken to develop localised updates of 3.1 must surely eat into this cost-cutting and the damage it has caused to their reputation is enormous. Opera not compatible with Google+, Firefox is though doesn’t render too well and drag and drop not good. I tried Dolphin previously, got irritated with every link asking which browser I should use but may return to that until 3.1 is released.
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Oh the Dolphin browser is an easy fix. You just tell it to default open to it. You can always change that setting later. But Dolphin or Android (I don’t know which) sees the multiple browsers so it asks. Once you say “Use this as default” it stops asking with every stinking link. That is WAY annoying. However, every single time Dolphin updates, I end up having to reset that. I use it exclusively on my phone. It works like a dream on the Droid. But I’ve been so so on the tablet. Supposedly the native browser is some sort of chrome, and it works OK, so I leave it. There’s that flash issue which I’ve found less than stellar application. I think it’s better to promote no-flash. 🙂 HAHA
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