sharespot.

July 19, 2011

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information.

They believe information on the web is increasingly organized around people.

Thus was born Google+

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Distinguishing characteristics:• Pervasive notification system• Required to sort people into circles• Granular sharing & viewing options• Real names only • Non-members receive content via email• Could be integrated with other google properties in the future

Google+ launched on June 28 in closed beta. 2 weeks later: 10 million users + 1 billion items shared

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Circles• Drag & drop (+ animations)• One way relationships• Sorted by “relevance” (v Katango)• Limited to 5,000 people• Names of circles are private• Problems: maintenance, recall, lack of nesting

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Stream

• See entire stream, or narrow by circle• You can +1, Comment, or Share• Shares, Hangouts, check-ins show up• Mute posts to delete from stream• Integrated G-chat• Problems:

• new comments push posts up• no nested comments

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Share what’s new...

• Embed photo, video, link, location• Choose circle(s) to share with• Add a “+” or “@” to mention someone • You can edit posts after publishing• You can disable comments & shares • Problems:

• No native “save draft” option• Limited formatting features• No support for hashtags

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Hangouts

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

• Video chat with up to 10 people• Speaker highlighted at center • Watch YouTube videos together• Embedded chat• Google translate for text chat• Invitations can come via stream,

notification, IM• Can’t kick anyone out of a hangout

Sparks

“It’s focused on getting stuff that’s fresh and social and fun. We’ve tried to tune parameters to get something that’s engaging,” says Andrew Tomkins, Google+ search engineer.

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Photos

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

• Lightbox photo viewing• Unlimited Picasa storage• Edit photos (6 filters, crop & rotate)• Tag people in photos• Instant upload from mobile, or drag & drop desktop• Problems: can’t (natively) sync to other services

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Profile

• Google Profile is public• Posts are separate tab from stream• +1s & Buzz• Links to other profiles are easy• YouTube doesn’t integrate videos

Search Engine Optimization

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

• +1s impact search• +1 buttons integrate with Google Analytics• Your +1s are a feature of your Profile• +1s impact Sparks

Take Out

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Your Google+ data is portable to other networks

Pervasive Notifications

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Google+ notifications appear in the “Google Bar” while viewing Google, Gmail, Reader, Docs, Maps, etc.

Mobile

• Android only app• Check-in from Google Places• “Nearby” circle• Huddles = group chat

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

• Users (even if all Gmail users convert, only 200m) • Females (~70% male)• Search (non-people oriented) • WYSIWYG drafting • “+” doesn’t play well online• Google apps integration • API • Verified accounts • Brands • Weighted circles• Bookmarking feature• Events• Clear user understanding of privacy

Google+ (currently) lacks

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Games (Google has already invested $100m+ in Zynga, acquired Slide)

Questions

Shared Circles

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Upcoming Google+ features found in the code

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

What’s the future for...?

FacebookTwitterYammerSkype

GroupMe

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Who are likely competitors?

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Differences in UI

more time spent outside the streamless clutter (for now)

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Facebook Google+ Twitter

Search: http://gplussearch.com/Vanity URL: http://gplus.to/usernameFacebook Circles: http://www.circlehack.com Stats: http://socialstatistics.com/Chrome extensions• GoogleMINUS• Facebook inside Google+• Gmail notifications in the Google bar

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Hacks

http://kevnull.com/2011/07/can-we-ever-digitally-organize-our-friends.htmlhttp://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/getty_images_says_google_plus_terms_of_service_is_ok.phphttp://gizmodo.com/5821335/so-what-the-hell-are-we-supposed-to-put-on-google%252Bhttp://www.chrisbrogan.com/ad-free-google-plus-50/http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-network-v2http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/inside-google-plus-social/all/1http://www.bryaneisenberg.com/2011/07/google-plus-facebook-knock-off-or-something-else/

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

7 great articles

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Provocative Questions

• Can Google+ scale quicker than Facebook can copy features?• Is the average user willing to use & maintain circles? • Which Google products will be integrated with Google+?• Will granular sharing suppress viral content?• Can Google surface the content I want to see in my stream?• Can Google+ empower 3rd party developers & become a platform?

+You Intro Features Future Competitors Resources threespot

Discussion