Google tries a 2nd time with Facebook killer
Google
At a recent industry conference, Google's former CEO (and current chairman) Eric Schmidt took responsibility for being slow to recognize the importance that social networking could play for Google.
"I was busy," Schmidt said.
But new ambitions come with a new slate. In announcing the service, which is called Google+, the company was careful to manage expectations, describing it as Google+ a "project," while admitting that it still has certain "rough edges."
For the time being, you'll need an invitation to access the service, which is only being extended to a select number of Google users. The service lets users group people within their social sphere into different categories. Google says that those who a person met Saturday night, for example, can be grouped into their own category, while parents can be placed into another. Users can then decide to share only certain information with different Circles.
Google announces Google+
Google's Facebook competitor
Wired: Inside Google+ How the search giant plans to go social
In addition, the social service includes a feature called Hangouts that lets users find others that are "hanging out" on the Web. If the user decides to join a hangout, he or she will be able to engage in a video chat with the others. Google+ also comes with an Instant Upload option that automatically uploads all photos and videos from a person's phone to their profile. From there, they can decide who to share that content with.
CNET has more about the new Google service here
Popular in SciTech
- iPhone 5S and low-cost iPhone said to be multicolored
- Android 4.3 pops up in the wild after skipping Google I/O
- Apple's next iPhone may be coming in June
- NYC tech tour: Foursquare, BuzzFeed, MakerBot Play Video
- Can a floating robot save a polluted canal?
- Google to add Galapagos Islands to Street View
- Delta 4 rocket boosts military comsat into orbit
- "God particle": Why the Higgs boson matters
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- People need Facebook for what exact reason other than wasting time they can never get back? No life people, no life.
- reply
-
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Why, to get a ton of "friends" of course. Everyone knows that better people have more Facebook friends.
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Google will NEVER kill facebook, sorry.
- reply
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Oh great, another worthless social networking program. I don't need to know what my friends are doing every moment of their lives.
- reply
-
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Right, and whats more its none of their business what I'm doing.
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Sorry Google, but people hate both you and Facebook! Both companies continue to collect an infinite amount of information about it's users having a total disregard for privacy rights, whether it's users choose to or not! Google talks about privacy, that's another joke! There is one serious competitor to both Facebook, and now Google so called new social network, ONLYMEWORLD which is experiencing triple digit growth!
- reply
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Google?
- reply
- linkicon reporticon emailicon
- Well, since most of us has a Gmail account I guess I might as well try this since they already know every tiny little thing about me through the emails I send. Though it would be a good idea to use fake information here as well. I'm not too keen on Facebook's privacy issues, but anyone who thinks they're being smart by sending information via email is deluded. The only federal crime in regards to information is having someone open the envelope of your mail. And it never happens since the only person handling your mail is the mail man -- while the people who handle your email are countless including Google employees, hackers, and people you accidentally send email to not to mention bots.
- reply













