Ok. Somehow, certain people think that I am an authority on all things technology. I like this sometimes (it makes me feel important), but at the same time, it isn't true at all. I just like to keep up with cool new stuff. And right now, that cool new thing is Google+.
Don't be fooled, Google+ is more than just a competitor for Facebook. Google, over the years, has dibbled into just about every side of the internet possible. They have slowly been accruing companies, reworking them with the Google brand. Now, Google+ is here to wrap them all together.
Google's flagship program was Gmail. Huge impact. Millions of users. 193.3 million (as of November 2010), in fact. Pretty much all of those users swear by it. It is every company's dream to have loyalty like that. I love Gmail and all of the cool stuff that it does. I love the themes, the new interface, chat, voice, and last but not least, the labs!
What is exciting to me is that the black bar brings them all together. You have mail, photos, documents, calendar events, news feeds, blogs, websites, and not to mention, the all-powerful search engine, chrome, maps, YouTube, etc. The black bar (dark grey, actually) is the thing that is bringing this all together. Before now, all of these slices of Google's pie has stood alone, but now, they will unite.
Sharing information is where it's at. Today I was browsing google reader (at work) and I saw a post from Contemporist that I thought a bunch of my architecture school buddies would like. Now, I have a few options. I can post to Twitter, where everybody (and nobody) can see it. But, with all of the feeds coming in, it is likely to be lost and my pals won't see the post. So, I consider Facebook. This is a good option- people may see it and even some people that aren't in architorture with me could see this cool stuff and appreciate it. So, Facebook is a viable option, but again, chances are, it'll be drowned out by some semi-hot chick taking black-and-white photos of her lawn chair.
Third choice: the new and upcoming Google+. Why? Circles. What no social network has done yet (to my knowledge) is to incorporate an idea like circles. We all have circles of friends and they rarely cross. For me, I have my friends from back home, my architecture friends, my advertising friends, LifePoint friends, LSMSA friends, and a some random others sprinkled in there somewhere. This is brilliantly simple. Want to share an architecture-related link? I'll share it with that circle only.
My buddy Bryan sent my a link to a TED Talk by Eli Pariser about filter bubbles. It talked about how lots of tech companies filter your internet experience (read: customized results) to your liking (watch it- it's a good talk). This circles idea is similar except that we are doing the filtering. I share this link with my architecture compadres and they see what I shared for them and nobody else.
At the same time, I am a part of these same circles but for other people. They share links with circles that I am a part of and I see those links. I have no clue that they didn't share that link with their other friends. We're all a part of a filtering system, like it or not.
Okay, I got a little sidetracked. So I share the link with my architecture pals. Links aren't the only thing that I will be able to share, though. Imagine all of Google's products combined. I can have my (newly redesigned) Google Calendar set up so that my school friends can see my class schedule. My work circle can see when I'm scheduled to work. Have a birthday party coming up? Create an event and invite people to it. I have no doubt that there is future integration in the works. Have a photo album? Share it via Picasa.*** Tag your friends while you're at it. You can even edit the pics there, too. Got a song that you're working on? Put that sucker in a Google doc and share it via email with someone and voila! Collaboration! Check-in somewhere via G+, tell your pals to get directions to your location via Maps. You could probably even "hang out" to give directions via your mobile device. You get the idea. You can do pretty much anything.
Now, I'm not saying that Google is the best thing on the planet, but they really are up there in the rankings. I'm very excited to see how Google+ will do (or will it flop like Wave) and the integration of all of their webs (pun!) will influence how we use the internet over the next 5-10 years (and who knows, maybe longer!)
***Worried about Google selling your photos? Don't be. Chances are, you're not a professional photographer and they will not be selling your uploading pics anyway (link, for the second time). Google has already been keeping track of your info and they are not going to use it against you. They use it for customized advertising (TED Talk, again). Here's another link.
