Support NeoGAF

[TheOMan]

How long did it take for Chrome to overtake IE?

 

[Vermillion]

This thing is while I agree, almost none of my FB friends/fam are willing to move over thus making G+ the loser. I've been trying lately to get some to move after the app updates, but there's zero budging. I don't need another social net and if no one moves, G+ just lays dormant.

I feel you. I'm about to delete my Facebook again.

 

[gcubed]

I dont need A social network, but G+/Picasa is where i store all my photos. Its not an option on facebook and duplicating images to share isn't worth the hassle.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Socialize and grow your blog with Google+

Blogger lets you share your thoughts, grow your readership, and engage with your audience. But we want to make Blogger even better by letting you tap into the growing Google+ community. Today, we’re adding a new “Google+” tab in the Blogger dashboard, so you now have a central place to start growing your blog with Google+. This means you can now:

Connect your blog to a Google+ profile or page
If you blog under your own name, you’ve already been able to associate your blog with your personal Google+ profile. Starting today, you can now connect your blog to a Google+ page for your brand, business or organization.

Notify followers when you publish, and let them recommend your content
Each time you post on your blog, we'll show you a Google+ share box to let you notify followers that you have new blog content. If they like what you share, followers can +1 or reshare your post to their own friends on Google+. This ripple effect exposes links to your content to a wider audience.



Build enduring connections with your audience
Adding the Google+ gadget to your blog makes it easy for people to add your profile or page to their circles when they like something you’ve published. Forming connections with readers that last after they've left your blog is essential.

To get started, click the “Google+” tab in the Blogger dashboard and then the “Upgrade” button. If you’ve already upgraded to Google+, we’ll help you associate your blog with your profile or page.

This is actually a pretty logical move and a definite boon to Google+ for page authors over Facebook. (On that note, lol Facebook Notes.)

 

[planar1280]

Google chat video has been replaced by google hangouts

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Google chat video has been replaced by google hangouts

In Gmail, right? A logical move. I turned off chat in Gmail in order to have a more consistent experience using only G+ chat and hangouts.

Edit- Might as well post it.

Video chat face-to-face-to-face with Hangouts in Gmail

Since the introduction of Gmail video chat back in 2008, many of you have told us that you love the direct, personal communication it provides. That's why we're excited to announce that video chat is being upgraded to a more modern video calling technology -- Google+ Hangouts.

Unlike the old video chat, which was based on peer-to-peer technology, Hangouts utilize the power of Google’s network to deliver higher reliability and enhanced quality. You’ll be able to chat with all the same people you did before and, in fact, with Hangouts you’ll now be able to reach them not only when they are using Gmail but also if they are on Google+ in the browser or on their Android or iOS devices.

All Gmail users will benefit from this upgrade, but if you and the person you're chatting with also use Google+, you’ll get even more from the Hangouts experience. You'll be able to video chat with up to nine people at once, watch YouTube videos together, collaborate on Google documents and share your screen. Plus, Hangouts has a bunch of fun effects that you can try out...because any conversation is better when you're wearing a virtual mustache or pirate hat.



We’ll be rolling out Hangouts in Gmail starting today and then gradually over the coming weeks. We hope you enjoy hanging out with your friends and family. Arrrgh!

 

[kehs]

In Gmail, right? A logical move. I turned off chat in Gmail in order to have a more consistent experience using only G+ chat and hangouts.

Shoulda turned off Google.

 

[AndyD]

Google chat video has been replaced by google hangouts

Hopefully this is an early sign of voice and chat also being merged soon.

 

[infinityBCRT]

Is it just me or is the current iteration of Google+ unbearably slow on Desktop Chrome? I had to use IE to be able to use the damn site without it locking up my browser.

By the way, the fact that Google+ integrates so well with Android (at least Jelly Bean-- haven't used other versions of Android) will increase the amount I use it now since I just got my wife a Nexus 7 and its basically her first foray into the world of tablets/smart phones. Google+ is the easiest way for us to "text" back and forth and video chat between her Nexus 7 and my iPhone while she's off visiting her family in another part of the country right now.

 

[snacknuts]

Is it just me or is the current iteration of Google+ unbearably slow on Desktop Chrome? I had to use IE to be able to use the damn site without it locking up my browser.

It's just you? I have tried it on Chrome and Chrome Canary on Win7 and Chrome on OSX and it runs fine.

 

[Izick]

If only there were more people on it. I'd leave facebook forever! V_V

 

[Angst]

If only there were more people on it. I'd leave facebook forever! V_V

There are loads of active people. Not the same people that are active on facebook, but that's more of a blessing than a curse...

 

[Izick]

There are loads of active people. Not the same people that are active on facebook, but that's more of a blessing than a curse...

I'm just saying my own personal friends. It sucks because I would like a "fresh-start" on a new social network site, but there's just not enough people on G+ that I know yet. Not even a dozen yet.

 

[infinityBCRT]

It's just you? I have tried it on Chrome and Chrome Canary on Win7 and Chrome on OSX and it runs fine.

Okay I found the culprit, was this APNG extension I had installed.

 

[AndyD]

I'm just saying my own personal friends. It sucks because I would like a "fresh-start" on a new social network site, but there's just not enough people on G+ that I know yet. Not even a dozen yet.

My way of fixing that was to start sharing everything on G+ only. Pictures, posts, links, everything. And since all my close friends have a Gmail account anyway, it was easy to put them in circles and share. As they started getting the notifications of my posts, they slowly started moving over. It takes one, then a couple more to move, and the notifications get people to take notice. Now almost everyone is on there.

And as others said, its a lot cleaner than Facebook. It reminds me of the days when people transitioned from MySpace to Facebook.

 

[gcubed]

they did the deal with the NFL for NFL.com fantasy football each "league" will have its own hangout for drafts, gameday talk, etc. Its pretty cool, they upped the limit to 12 for it.

http://nflcommunications.com/2012/08/01/nfl-com-fantasy-football-integrates-google-hangouts/

A Google+ Hangouts button will appear throughout NFL.com Fantasy Football leagues. Users who click the Hangouts button will launch their fantasy league’s unique Google+ Hangouts page. Live notifications and other features will be added to the experience throughout the season.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Google+ is very very slow on my mom's Chromebook. A bit faster on my desktop, but it's not ideal. I think it's gotten better recently, though.

Okay I found the culprit, was this APNG extension I had installed.

Ah yeah, I remember that making Gmail unbearably slow so I uninstalled it.

---​

Anyways, 75% of the top 100 brands are now on Google+, compared to 80% for Twitter and 90% for Facebook.

Brands Flock To Google+ But Facebook, Twitter Still More Active

More and more brands are staking their claims on Google‘s social network, signaling that Google+ is becoming a social marketing staple along with Facebook and Twitter. But they still have far fewer fans and followers than on the two leading networks.

The latest reading on Google’s biggest bet in years comes from BrightEdge, a search engine optimization firm for large brands. According to the company’s new SocialShare Report, three-quarters of the top 100 brands now have Google+ pages, including new arrivals Visa, Hermes, and Wells Fargo. That’s approaching the brand participation on Facebook, at 90%, and Twitter, at 80%.

The number of people following the top 100 brands grew 54% in the last two months, the report said, reaching 12.2 million. That’s far lower than the 150% growth from February through May, but probably not too surprising given the absolute size.

The problem with slower growth, though, is that there are still way fewer followers of most of the top brands on Google+ vs. Facebook and Twitter. H&M, for instance, leads Google+ brand with 1.3 million followers, but that’s tiny compared with its 11.6 million fans on Facebook. Even Google’s third-place 968,000 followers pales next to its 10.3 million Facebook fans. Overall, Facebook has 481 million fans of the top 100 brands.

That may be a function of the still relatively early development of Google+ next to Twitter and Facebook. But it reflects a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. The lower engagement by users so far may explain why only 20% of brands with Google+ pages link to them on their own websites. But the lack of such links in turn could dampen the potential growth of new followers.

So why are most brands now on Google+ even though their fans aren’t yet there in big numbers? A key reason is that merely being there appears to help brands show up more prominently in search results. BrightEdge says 30% of brands with Google+ pages show up on search results when people type in their brand name. That six times higher than in February.

The increase could reflect the growth in Google+ usage by brands and Google users, but it’s also likely a result of the greater relevance Google is ascribing to social content in search results. One might wonder if there’s a quid pro quo here, but while something that direct seems unlikely, it’s clear that brand managers feel they must have a presence on Google+ if they want to show up more often in search results.

The bottom line: Google+ may not be a ghost town anymore, but it’s still far from a thriving metropolis.

I'd say that's a fair summary.

---​

Rumor: Google Puts A Hold On New Google+ Acquisitions

Today in the tech news rumor mill: A source close to Google tells us that the company has put a stop to all acquisitions related to Google+, at least until the end of this year. This source also tells us that Google is wary of both growing the Google+ team right now and providing the product with any additional resources until January.

The Google+ project itself is not on hold but, if this rumor is indeed correct and Google is cutting back on expanding the team’s resources, this could be an indication that Google+ isn’t doing quite as well as the company’s glowing public comments would indicate.

It’s worth noting that, according to our source, the traditional Google+ Hawaii trip, is apparently still on the schedule. Last year, the company invited 450 Google+ employees to Maui for an “offsite” meeting in September. The same team also decamped to Hawaii to celebrate the launch of Google+ in June 2011.

Google has made a number of acquisitions to bolster Google+ since June 2011. This year, these acquisitions included the $100 million acquisition of Meebo in June and the purchase of Kevin Rose’s Milk for a supposed $15 million in March. Two key members of Milk, Kevin Rose and Chris Hutchins, ending up leaving Google+ for Google Ventures almost immediately after that acquisition.

It’s always been hard to gauge the success of Google’s foray into social, despite the fact that Google regularly releases numbers about how many sign-ups it sees and how often Google+ users also use other Google tools. Given how hard Google is pushing Google+ through all of its product channels like Android and Google Docs, these numbers might not necessarily correlate with actual active users of its social networking platform and visitors to plus.google.com.

We reached out to Google to confirm these rumors. As expected, a Google spokesperson told us that the company “doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation.”

Would seem odd that Google says they're basically betting the company on something they're now wary of investing more into. Come on Google, don't give up! If you keep trying I know you'll get there eventually.

 

[Cipherr]

Google+ is very very slow on my mom's Chromebook. A bit faster on my desktop, but it's not ideal. I think it's gotten better recently, though.



Ah yeah, I remember that making Gmail unbearably slow so I uninstalled it.

---​

Anyways, 75% of the top 100 brands are now on Google+, compared to 80% for Twitter and 90% for Facebook.

Brands Flock To Google+ But Facebook, Twitter Still More Active



I'd say that's a fair summary.

---​

Rumor: Google Puts A Hold On New Google+ Acquisitions



Would seem odd that Google says they're basically betting the company on something they're now wary of investing more into. Come on Google, don't give up! If you keep trying I know you'll get there eventually.

I dont get the big deal there? Didn't they just make two very very recent acquisitions? Now acquisitions are on hold until January and this is supposed to be harrowing?

 

[kehs]

They probably ran out of companies to buy.

 

[SimleuqiR]

I dont get the big deal there? Didn't they just make two very very recent acquisitions? Now acquisitions are on hold until January and this is supposed to be harrowing?

They probably ran out of companies to buy.

Apollo Creed: "Ding, Ding"

 

[gcubed]

They probably ran out of companies to buy.

maybe they want to focus on actually getting the technology and companies integrated into the actual team

 

[ThatObviousUser]

maybe they want to focus on actually getting the technology and companies integrated into the actual team

That seems the most likely case. I mean, Kevin Rose jumping straight from G+ to the Ventures team probably wasn't the bode of confidence they were looking for.

 

[Battersea Power Station]

Is there a way to remove someone from a Messenger conversation?

 

[Everdred]

I just found a post from January 3rd, 2011 from some random blogger that basically describes Google+ in a article "How to Beat Facebook"

Right now, Facebook uses relatively primitive, linear, 2-D textual layouts. However, there is no reason why Facebook could not use circles, or concentric circles (or even spheres). After all, we talk about our “circle of friends” and our “inner circle” of friends. There are underlying cognitive reasons we use these terms.

There is no reason that we could not simply drag and drop our friends’ pictures into a circle of our choosing. Also, there is no reason that artificial intelligence could not suggest new circles to us, or automatically organize our circles base on interest and frequency of contact. “Hey Bill, 75 of your friends like “Astronomy.”

Obviously it's just a coincidence but I thought it was interesting to just stumble upon. Also it's clearly a very basic and vague description.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Bringing Google+ to work

Google taking on Yammer while exploiting their Apps customers and turning them into G+ users. The hangout stuff could be really awesome for businesses. Easy, free video teleconferencing tied right into calendars? Pretty sweet.

 

[snacknuts]

Bringing Google+ to work

Google taking on Yammer while exploiting their Apps customers and turning them into G+ users. The hangout stuff could be really awesome for businesses. Easy, free video teleconferencing tied right into calendars? Pretty sweet.

We use Google Apps at my company and have been looking to replace our conference call platform. Will definitely see if I can get some traction on this around the office.

 

[Macho Madness]

I can't find any reliable ways to create a brand page on this thing. Anyone know how?

 

[Jill Sandwich]

On the left hand column, click on Pages (you may need to click More) and in the top right there should be a big red button saying Create New Page.

 

[SimleuqiR]

So who's going to open up the NeoGaf community?

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-communities-and-photos.html

Google+ Communities: for all the people you ought to know
From photography to astronomy (and everything in between), Google+ has always been a place to crowd around common interests and meet new people. What’s been missing, however, are more permanent homes for all the stuff you love: the wonderful, the weird, and yes, even the things that are waaay out there. With Google+ Communities there’s now a gathering place for your passions, including:

• Public or private membership to support all kinds of groups—from topics and interests to local neighborhoods to regular poker nights
• Discussion categories to find the conversations you care about most
• The option to start hangouts and plan events with community members
• The ability to share with your community from any +1 button across the web

 

[Kinitari]

So who's going to open up the NeoGaf community?

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-communities-and-photos.html

I was reading this, and it basically sounds like Reddit.

 

[NumberTwo]

Can't wait for the GAF community.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Looks cool.

Also I feel the need to reiterate just how awesome G+ Events are.

 

[lastplayed]

So who's going to open up the NeoGaf community?

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-communities-and-photos.html

Sweet, can't wait to see what sort of communities pop up.

 

[Polari]

Woo, Facebook groups have finally come to Google+. How exciting.

 

[CountAntonius]

So who's going to open up the NeoGaf community?

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-communities-and-photos.html

So is anyone gonna do this? I'd like to actually get some use from Google+ for once.

 

[SimleuqiR]

So is anyone gonna do this? I'd like to actually get some use from Google+ for once.

My "Create Community" button is grayed out. Not sure why.

 

[Kinitari]

Woo, Facebook groups have finally come to Google+. How exciting.

Unless facebook has a feature that I don't know about, that's not what this is. This sounds more like Reddit.

 

[Everdred]

I created a "Video Games" community, had members within seconds.

https://plus.google.com/communities/100843643731407269311

Join up guys!

 

[blahness]

So who's going to open up the NeoGaf community?

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/google-communities-and-photos.html

I did it. It is public and not moderated.

 

[SimleuqiR]

OK I could create a Neogaf Google+ Community (not official, obviously). But it should be made a private one, right? Invite only?

I did it. It is public and not moderated.

https://plus.google.com/communities/105509972721420628416

Edit: Cool. But here's the thing, is it a GAF community if anyone can join? /philosoraptor.jpg

 

[CountAntonius]

Yeah I agree it should be private or else lurkers will probably join up and post nonsense.

 

[blahness]

Yeah I agree it should be private or else lurkers will probably join up and post nonsense.

I cannot change it to private but can set up moderators. Other than that, I can delete the community and someone can re-create it as a private community. All that making it private does is that no one can see any content unless they are accepted into the community.

 

[NumberTwo]

...then lets do that. Who's going to do it?

 

[wario]

here's the android gaf community if anyone is interested.

NeoGaf Meet Android on Google +

 

[mollipen]

I started a Vita community, and I already have eight members! That's seven more than I ever thought it'd get! *laughs*

Let's ♥ Vita!

 

[sca2511]

Joined the communities. This looks great.

 

[blahness]

Ok I deleted the community. If someone wants to re-create and manage the NeoGAF community, go to it . I don't have the bandwidth to keep up with invite requests.

 

[Vic]

Just made this community: Instrumental Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, Downtempo, etc

 

[Exentryk]

I hate to wake up early!
This Is Not a Community!
Chocolate
Final Fantasy
FF Versus XIII
Playstation

G+ communities should be more like those orkut forums. It works pretty well, and it'll differentiate them from facebook as well.

 

[yonder]

So how is Google+ these days? I'm getting kinda sick of Facebook and was considering switching over, but only one of my friends is on it rendering it more or less useless.

Anyone use both G+ and Facebook btw?