So, I have a Google+ invite.

[theweaselking]

Does anyone know what it *is*?

Is like Buzz, the tool where nobody knows what it's good for or what you can do with it, or like Wave, where nobody knows what it's good for or what you can do with it? Or is it more like facebook, where it's useless crap that does nothing and EVERYONE knows it?

I mean, seriously. What is Google+ and why would I possibly want it?

EDIT: If you uncheck the "let Google use your personal information to spam you" checkbox, it won't let you sign up at all. FUCK. THAT.

Comments

[publius1.livejournal.com]

The bigger question for me is, how the fuck did you manage to go all day without once seeing a story about Google+ on a single website, news item, or blurb? I couldn't get away from it all day.



If you were just being fake-ignorant, then a) oops, sorry, and b) don't be a dick!

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I saw the XKCD and nothing else.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

Count yourself lucky, then. It's the new "IT".

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Oh hey, "mac-like interface" with "facebook functionality". It's the PERFECT STORM of unusable suckware, according to it's own press? Gee, that makes me want to join RIGHT up.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

I neither have, nor want, an invite to it. If it takes off, whee, I'll join. Otherwise, I can take it or leave it.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

And? Yeah, no. "Like facebook but not by facebook" fails the "facebook sucks" test. And the "can't sign up without checking the fake-optional 'google may spam me' box" is complete bullshit.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't plan on debating with you the usefulness of a service I explicitly stopped using. Clearly, it isn't necessary for me to enjoy my life, as I haven't missed it ever.

Plus, I don't play the "I don't understand why anyone would like" game.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

This is more a "but what is it FOR?" question.

Like, anyone who wanted facebook has facebook. So what *is it* that's supposed to entice either people who don't like facebook or who do like facebook but will maybe like this better?

[publius1.livejournal.com]

Well, I think the obvious answer is "It's not for you, it's for Google," for a whole host of reasons.

But if I were on Google's "side" here, I'd say that the easy "Hangout" ability could generate some favorable press and word-of-mouth.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

What "hangout" ability would that be?

I, an invited participant, am unable to join without signing away the contents of my email account and browser history. The news articles on news.google.com are, unsurpringingly and yet still ironically, completely lacking in details.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

Invite 10 friends to talk with you in video chat! Your loudest, most obnoxious friends get face time, because that's how it determines whose video gets showcased.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

That seems... not good, even as it favours me.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

And a few other friends I know. I hate the entire concept of video chat (yes, I was promised video phones when I was a child. Whoopee that we got that instead of flying cars and personal jetpacks), so, REALLY not for me. But I can see some teenagers being really, really into it.

[the-trav.livejournal.com]

Some people have facebook, and want what it offers, but they have heard people say bad things about the owners of facebook and their privacy.

Google wants to cash in on some of that distrust by offering an extremely similar service but relying on their reputation of a trusted provider.

It's all marketing of course, and there's no reason to expect better privacy behaviour from google, but if the service is as good/better than facebook then I don't see a problem with it

[publius1.livejournal.com]

"but they have heard people say bad things about the owners of facebook and their privacy"

Yes, because nobody could possibly have a legitimate complaint.

[the-trav.livejournal.com]

Facebook has done bad privacy stuff, I don't argue that.
However I'm fairly confident that it hasn't negatively impacted 95% of their user base.

On top of that, anyone who actually expects Facebook (or googlebook now it exists) to respect their privacy while they're uploading tons of personal information, is holding unrealistic expectations and setting themselves up for trouble.

[mejoff.livejournal.com]

Probably facebook functionality with two bonuses.
1. Google is not owned by a christian fundamentalist.

2. I suspect it will not be quite as popular, but will attract the sort of people I would want to have connections with, while those I don't will stay with facebook, so there's a self selecting elitism attraction there.

[publius1.livejournal.com]

1. Wait, what?

[mejoff.livejournal.com]

Stands corrected, turns out there was some fuss about some shareholders a few years ago that managed to become all the information I contained about the matter.

[goose-gumshoe.livejournal.com]

like

[anivair.livejournal.com]

No argument about that. I'm out for that very reason.

[anivair.livejournal.com]

Sidebar: I unchecked that box and it let me go ahead. Am I missing something?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I have no idea. It *wouldn't* let me proceed, last night. The checkbox was marked as optional, and the button to go ahead was still clickable, but it did nothing as long as the checkbox was unchecked.

[skwidly.livejournal.com]

It's FB, more or less, but with group-level permissions baked in as a core concept.

Feel free to add me, BTW.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I can't create an account without giving Google the checkbox permission to share all my Google information with third parties. So fuck that.

[cuddlycthulhu.livejournal.com]

I was able to uncheck it and create an account. Did you chose a gender? That was what was holding me up (missed the box).

[gygaxis.livejournal.com]

the gender box was what hung it up for me too and I unchecked the spamy box. The invites are being kind of weird anyway with apparently intense demand

I'm also liking plus quite a bit so far, it's got some nice granular privacy controls and data liberation options.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

...but with group-level permissions baked in as a core concept.

So it's FaceJournal? Or LiveBook? (plus)

[iblis-kukl.livejournal.com]

[moiread]

I have a friend who wants an invite, if you don't want to use it. Assuming the invite is even transferable. I have no idea. (I'm so not even touching it. I'm happy with my existing social media choices.)

[maelorin]

you're *so* not the target audience for this thing.

if you were, you'd have signed up already.

;\

[hwrnmnbsol.livejournal.com]

Then who is the target audience?

(This is a completely earnest question. I know zero about Google+.)

[iblis-kukl.livejournal.com]

[hwrnmnbsol.livejournal.com]

That's an irrational hope for a product that's likely completely imaginary.

[iblis-kukl.livejournal.com]

[almostwitty]

People like me who love Facebook for what it has become - the Internet for non-digital-savvy newbies like my sisters ... and wonder what Google+ brings to the party.

The curious, in other words.

[matgb]

I heard about it from two sources, my former colleague Mark Pack and then the Wired article.

I shall probably sign up when I've read the T7cs, because it's the sort of thing I always try, but they're a) betting the farm on it and b0 making sure it doesn't suck.

One feature that really looks interesting to me is Sparks, basically a newsfeed that should learn what sort of things you're interested in and give you news and cool stuff from both your regular sources and other places you might not see, and they really want that to be a Good Thing.

The privacy features are basically Friends Filters with a non-sucky UI, but it looks interesting.

I am awaiting an invite from various people but have no clue whether it'll actually be good, but like I said at mark's, if the only thing it does is force competitors to sort their sucky UIs out I'll be happy.

[plantyhamchuk.livejournal.com]

I have an invite. It wanted me to merge my gmail with picasa, which is a big nono for me as one is under my real name and one under my usual online handle, and never shall the two meet. And then all of your comments become searchable or something. If you don't agree with that arrangement, you don't get into google plus, and at this point I'm really fine with that. Some of my friends idolize Google, but it's really just a company, and I'm pretty certain they have enough of my data already.

[argonel.livejournal.com]

I wonder if there is an easy way to send this feedback to Google so they can fix this before it rolls out to lots of people. They are trying to learn fromthe mistakes made launching Google buzz.

One of the interesting features is the granularity of sharing that the circles feature builds in.

[hel]

For me, the following link goes to the google+ help. Looking at the URL, I have doubts as to whether it will go to the google+ help for someone who isn't using google+. But it's worth a shot?
https://www.google.com/support/profiles/bin/request.py

[hel]

This link may be more useful https://www.google.com/intl/en/+/learnmore/forum/

[hel]

If you sign up, there's a nice little "send feedback" button in the bottom corner of the page. I'm looking for feedback options that don't require having already signed up.

[eatsoylentgreen.livejournal.com]

well you have to allow a company its revenue stream, not all service is provided by David Cameron, as much as he would like that.

[kowh.livejournal.com]

The basic functionality is like Facebook, but the UI sucks less.

Also they seem to be taking to heart the criticisms Facebook has gotten and made it easier/more obvious to restrict who gets to see what. Contact groups ("circles") are a large part of that.

I hope it takes off if only to spur Facebook into sucking less*. I hate FB, but it's that or little/no contact with non-tech-savvy friends/family.

* Replacing it entirely is my preference, but I don't see that happening any time soon.