Last year, Google took a blow to the social networking arena by launching Google Buzz, which was soon burned to a crisp by critics who have lambasted his privacy protections, apparently lax. Now, the leading search engine Google is back with +, its latest attempt to break into the social scene. Challenge to a rival the size of Facebook will be difficult, but the size of Google and the existing infrastructure may be useful.
Google has taken a stab second Tuesday of social networking with the launch of Google +, a program designed to connect users to interactively and Global Challenge Facebook social networking king.
The giant search engine failed with his first attempt at an online social network, Google last year, Buzz, who had difficulty in suppressing the social scene and overcrowded was strongly criticized for what some users saw as a lack of guarantees of confidentiality.
Google hopes that this time it will be able to take a bigger step in the market for social networks.
"We learned a lot of buzz, and we decided to take a step back and start from scratch the project Google is only the beginning + -. We want to bring real life to share for the web in a way radically different, "said a Google spokesperson in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by Katie Watson, senior director of global communications and public affairs at Google.
New Features
+ Google deploys with an interface similar to Facebook, giving users the ability to upload photos and videos and making sure that every feature offered at the launch is easily accessible with a mobile platform.
Perhaps one of its most interesting aspect is + Hangouts, an interactive video feature that allows users to chat with several people at the same time, coming and going as users please. The function, however, raised some concern - there are worries it is a concept that has not quite understood and never will, but others call it an innovation to a hot younger, tech-savvy generation.
Can it work?
One way Google + could be separated from competition is its emphasis on group separation. Users have a common quibble with Facebook is its re-definition of the word "friend" - the site is set up so that the true friends, colleagues, family members and acquaintances are grouped under the same, simple "friend" the label.
+ With Google, however, users can share the different groups of friends by using the + Circle. For example, in a circle, a user could view a video of a new baby to a group of family members, and then send an intriguing work-related item to a circle of colleagues without having to manage personal and professional life.
Many other online social networks classify all contacts of a user as "friends", which tends to make it more difficult to share information, according to Google.
The amount of control users have over the information they send is invaluable for users, Google says, especially in a scene where the consequences of technology over sharing began to settle and privacy is a growing concern.
"Because Google + is centered around you, we tried to give users more ways to stay private or go public and offer more meaningful choices about their friends and their data," said the spokesman for Google .
Another way Google could gain a loyal customer base is with a commitment to the hyper-localization of the social scene. Google applications like Google Maps and optimize restaurant finders using Google around the globe, a direction in which the trend of social networking is moving.
"Social begins to move more local and mobile, and can be a competitive advantage [Google] on Facebook," Rory Maher, an analyst with Hudson Square, told TechNewsWorld.
Unlike Facebook or other networks, Google has an entire infrastructure built with Android mobile network, where it owns a majority stake in mobile platforms.
However, it will probably be difficult for everyone, including Google, to compete with Facebook, or even a niche competitor such as LinkedIn. Obstacles such as persuading users to add another network to their routine can be difficult to overcome.
The giant search engine failed with his first attempt at an online social network, Google last year, Buzz, who had difficulty in suppressing the social scene and overcrowded was strongly criticized for what some users saw as a lack of guarantees of confidentiality.
Google hopes that this time it will be able to take a bigger step in the market for social networks.
"We learned a lot of buzz, and we decided to take a step back and start from scratch the project Google is only the beginning + -. We want to bring real life to share for the web in a way radically different, "said a Google spokesperson in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by Katie Watson, senior director of global communications and public affairs at Google.
New Features
+ Google deploys with an interface similar to Facebook, giving users the ability to upload photos and videos and making sure that every feature offered at the launch is easily accessible with a mobile platform.
Perhaps one of its most interesting aspect is + Hangouts, an interactive video feature that allows users to chat with several people at the same time, coming and going as users please. The function, however, raised some concern - there are worries it is a concept that has not quite understood and never will, but others call it an innovation to a hot younger, tech-savvy generation.
Can it work?
One way Google + could be separated from competition is its emphasis on group separation. Users have a common quibble with Facebook is its re-definition of the word "friend" - the site is set up so that the true friends, colleagues, family members and acquaintances are grouped under the same, simple "friend" the label.
+ With Google, however, users can share the different groups of friends by using the + Circle. For example, in a circle, a user could view a video of a new baby to a group of family members, and then send an intriguing work-related item to a circle of colleagues without having to manage personal and professional life.
Many other online social networks classify all contacts of a user as "friends", which tends to make it more difficult to share information, according to Google.
The amount of control users have over the information they send is invaluable for users, Google says, especially in a scene where the consequences of technology over sharing began to settle and privacy is a growing concern.
"Because Google + is centered around you, we tried to give users more ways to stay private or go public and offer more meaningful choices about their friends and their data," said the spokesman for Google .
Another way Google could gain a loyal customer base is with a commitment to the hyper-localization of the social scene. Google applications like Google Maps and optimize restaurant finders using Google around the globe, a direction in which the trend of social networking is moving.
"Social begins to move more local and mobile, and can be a competitive advantage [Google] on Facebook," Rory Maher, an analyst with Hudson Square, told TechNewsWorld.
Unlike Facebook or other networks, Google has an entire infrastructure built with Android mobile network, where it owns a majority stake in mobile platforms.
However, it will probably be difficult for everyone, including Google, to compete with Facebook, or even a niche competitor such as LinkedIn. Obstacles such as persuading users to add another network to their routine can be difficult to overcome.
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