Last week I Tweeted a request for a Google + invite and was granted one by a nice man named Sumit. Once inside I started exploring Circles. This feature is a cross between the Facebook news feed and Twitter lists, you get a graphical.
Right now I'm having a hard time personalizing my Google + experience since I only have two friends on the service and neither one of them are visiting it very often. Right now Google + looks like a glorified Twitter with feeds coming from tech people I'm following.
One thing I see that needs to change about Google + is the ability to sond someone a direct message. I don't know if it's hidden or just not available, but I know people are going want to send personal messages to each other without having to broadcast their message to everyone else in a circle.
I'm also not sure who is able to see what I post. I'm not sure how to control what my followers see versus what my two friends see. I think Google will need to create a series of Youtube tutorials that will help users understand how to use Google + more effectively.
So what does Google have to do to make this shiny new toy as successful as Facebook, they must make it very simple and transparent. This is what made Youtube so successful, to make contributing and consuming as simplistic as possible. They also need to put Facebook on their heels by giving users the ability to download their data and set privacy setting in a more intuitive way.
What about you? Have you had a chance to check out Google +? I'd love to know what you think. I'd love to create a Geek Dad circle and have us all talk Geek stuff.
February 10 marks the fist day the iPhone will be available for Verizon subscribers. As the months go by and Apple nearly doubles its sales of the popular smart phone, I wonder who will be happiest from this long anticipated carrier addition:
1) Verizon - I read somewhere that Verizon will lose hundreds of millions of dollars in the first year for subsidizing the iPhone. I understand it's all about the long vision, but I know Verizon is holding their breath about their stock numbers and whether or not it was a good idea to include the iPhone in their lineup.
2) Apple - No doubt they will double their sales of the popular device and break into the Android market share, but I think they too are holding their breath a little. The iPhone may be the most popular smartphone on the planet, but it is not without it's flaws. The most popular problem is the antenna and the dropped calls. AT&T blamed Apple for the unreliable signal quality while Apple sat back and pointed the finger back. If the iPhone continues to drop calls on Verizon then Apple has a big problem on its hands.
3) Google - Android is a Google product, the biggest opponent to Apples iOS that runs the iPhone. I know Android phones are building market share at a surprising rate, but no doubt having the iPhone on Verizon will slow that increase. I liken this mobile race to that of Microsoft and Apple for the last 20 years. Apple focused on quality and design while Microsoft dominated most of the world with affordable products that everyone had access to in all shapes and sizes. I wonder if Google even cares about this Verizon/Apple partnership, further I wonder if Apple learned from it's mistakes with the Microsoft fight.
4) AT&T - These guys are probably giving a sigh of relief with the scores of people that plan to make the switch to Verizon, especially all those bitter people with terrible service in San Francisco. Still those people who are left over might see a bump in service with all the heavy users off the network. I heard AT&T has been working for years to build up their network from all the iPhone users, now they're poised to offer the best service in the U.S..
In the end the real winner will be the consumer. The battle for cheaper devices will bring the prices down along with the competition for cheaper and faster mobile Internet service. Consumers will read the online reviews and wait until summer when the next iPhone will debut. If it's a winner the eyes will be on the carriers, if it's a dog, Android will have the biggest smile.
This week Mark Zuckerberg was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine. I am both excited and disappointed by this choice. On one level I am happy to see the mainstream media embrace the tech world, I think it help validates the industry and helps lift it from fun website to a global brand.
On the other side I wish Time would choose a better ambassador instead of Mark. I find his company to be unscrupulous with the way they sell user data to third parties, praying the the users who think they are contributing their content to a walled garden. If you are among the foolish that think what you write on Facebook is protected, then you need to visit Your Open Book.org. Just type something generic like, "I hate my boss" and you'll have a long list of people who write nasty things about their boss on Facebook.
Here is a short list of influencial tech people I would choose over Mark Z:
1) Steve Jobs - The iPad was one of the top products of the year. As CEO of Apple Steve's legacy is more secure than ever.
2) Eric Schmidt - Google's CEO is controversial, but their stand-off with China and other significant tech creations are changing the world in a positive way.
3) Jeff Bezos - I'm a huge Amazon fan and I think they're just getting better. The Kindle is a big hit that looks to change book publishing forever.
Google and Groupon are getting a lot of press about the upcoming purchase. Some reports highlight the $5.3 billion price tag Google is about to pay, others are talking about what Google plans to do with the aquisition.
Here is a short description about Groupon
I like th idea of a Groupon: get enough people (Group) before the coupon becomes active. This way businesses only pay for results and potential customers spread the word about Groupon and the local business using Twitter, Facebook, and email in order to meet the quota needed to activate the coupon.
I am personally excited about this acquisition. I'll be interested to see how Google is able to integrate Groupon with Google Hotpot, another attempt to review and share local businesses. I hope Google is able to pioneer a new method of online commerce and marketing that small business owners can understand and make use of.
I read about Google's new search tool on Mashable this morning. Can you believe this? Google is refreshing the search results page while you type your search query. Check out this video, be sure to maximize it to full screen to get the full effect.
While I'm at it, I should show you one of my favorite Google search videos, perhaps because I'm into romantic comedies (don't laugh). I think this showed up as a Superbowl ad last year.
A screen shot of my Hugh Grant Google search.
Notice I selected "Latest" for my time frame.
I think one of my favorite features of Google search is the "Latest" feature on the search page. It's simple to use, just type your query in the search box as you normally do, then select the "Latest" option and watch the magic happen. I searched for Hugh Grant because I saw his name as a trending topic on Twitter. When I clicked "Search" a steam of links came pouring in from several sources all over the Internet, but mostly from Twitter. I generally use this feature when I want to view a trending topic from multiple perspectives. This feature will not work very well on topic that people are not currently writing about, but it's great when you want the scoop on something.
Here's a quick tip - Did you know the search bar is also a calculator? Type a math expression and Google will calculate it for you instantly. I even tried it with Google's Chrome browser that allows you to search via th address bar. At first I entered a simple problem like 3+2*8 and "19" showed up without me having to hit the enter key. In case you thought the answer was 40, go back and review the order of operations.
It turns out you can do most of the calculation that a typical scientific calculator can do, which is plenty for most of us. For more information on this cool feature, check out Google's calculator help page.
This photo is courtesy of Panoramio. It was
one of the photos that enticed me to visit
this hotel resort.
During my upcoming Hawaiian vacation I plan to take lots of photos. Most of the photos will be of my family, but I'm planning to take several shots of the beautiful surroundings. If I Geotag these photos I can include them on Google search results by uploading them to Panoramio. Panoramio is a photo sharing site that was bought by Google a couple of years ago. When you upload your photo to Panoramio you are also enabling the service to link your photo to Google maps, then when someone searches for that particular place they will see your photo along with everyone else who also submitted photos of that location. I used this service to help make a decision about which resort to choose in Hawaii. Instead of looking at the resorts photos, I thought it would be more helpful to get a visitor's perspective of the place, so I visited Google Maps and entered the name of the Hotel (The Mauna Lani on the Big Island). As I suspected there were dozens of photos submitted by visitors showing the lush landscapes and beautiful grounds of the Hotel.
If you click on the map you'll get more information
including reviews from customers.
The last topic I'll talk about in this post is Google's local business search. These days people are using the Internet to not only find product to order and have shipped, they are also using it to find local services. For instance, I just encountered back spasms for the first time. I was in extreme pain and I had no idea what to do. My wife suggested calling an acupuncturist. I never visited one so I turned to Google to find a good one. I searched for "San Clemente Acupuncture". Google first presented me with a map of the area and pins placed at acupuncture locations. If I click on the map I will have a host of detailed information including customer reviews, photos, videos, and maybe even coupons provided by the business.
The advantage for the tech-savvy business is most small business owners have no idea they can have full control of their listing for free, it's like having free advertising for people that are already looking for you. Hopefully as time goes by more businesses will take advantage of this free tool, which will make searching on Google even more effective.
A few months ago I responded to a promotion Google had prior to Christmas. The offer included a cool EyeFi memory card if you purchased 200GB of cloud memory space from Google. It's now March 28th and I haven't seen the card yet. Further I tried to contact Google and EyeFi to inquire about my card and I've received no response. It's like calling into a black hole with no one there to listen to you.
I've heard of similar problems from other people complaining about the lack of customer service from Google. I can only imagine what would happen if I had a problem with my Nexus One phone. Further I don't trust Google very much when it comes to my data. What would happen if my Youtube account was suddenly suspended? Or my Blogger account? The truth is Google can do whatever they want with my accounts including my Gmail. Luckily Google did begin a new project called the Data Liberation Front based on the idea of freeing your data from any one service or provider in the event you become locked out of your accounts.
I have to give @nicoleyearycredit for sharing this video. I think it does a great job of showing off the power of Google search in a wonderful way. I am constantly amazed at how advanced and yet intuitive search has become.
