The Real (and Virtual) Adventures of Nathan the IT Guy » Google+

Google I/O Dev Conference Starts Soon

Nathan Simon — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:50:35 +0000

June 27th is when Google I/O opens its doors to developers from across the world! Maybe this is where they will announce the new Google Tablet! Get a head start by downloading the app.

The full feature list is below.

View detailed session, code lab, and speaker information, including speaker bios, photos, and Google+ profiles
+1 sessions right from the app
Participate in public #io2012 conversations on Google+
Guide yourself using the conference map
Get a reminder a few minutes before sessions in your schedule are due to start
View information about companies in the Developer Sandbox
Keep up with announcements from the I/O team during the conference
View your schedule on your Android 3.0+ device’s home screen using an app widget
Play back “I/O Live” session video streams on your Android 3.0+ devices
Automatically sync sessions in your schedule to your Android 4.0 device’s calendar
Beam session details from your Android 4.0, NFC-enabled device to another using Android Beam

Download it from the Play Store here.

Facebook gives you more control… its about time..

Nathan Simon — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 00:49:09 +0000

So you post a bunch of pictures, some of them are questionable, you really don’t care if your “friends” see them, but what if your boss, or aunt, or mom’s best friend sees these pictures from Mexico? What will they say, oh how embarrassing… Well now you can change that, and you will be fully conscience of your decisions, because as soon as you post those “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” pictures, you will be asked, “Who would you like to allow to see these lovely pictures?”

Overall, the changes make it easier for people to understand what audience will be seeing what they post on Facebook and to control who sees what others post that refers to them. The changes will start rolling out in coming days and people will be prompted with a tour option when they are available.

Facebook users have long complained that it’s not always clear who can see what content is posted, among other concerns. Meanwhile, Google+ has been praised for avoiding some of the Facebook (and Buzz) privacy pitfallsby allowing users to easily control who they share content with. Asked if the Facebook changes were in response to Google+, a Facebook representative said no.

Best thing about this is when your buddy posts you in a less than appropriate bar night picture, you get notified of the tag and can accept it or not. Power back to the people. My suggestion, start making groups asap. Friends, Work Friends, Bosses, Family. etc. you get the point. After those groups are created you can then choose who see’s what. The Ball is back in our court. Why? Because Google was doing it and Facebook should have already been doing it.

-NS

Google+

Nathan Simon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 03:15:12 +0000

I just got invited, and I have no clue what I am doing on there... I don't know if they can really pry people away from Facebook... maybe as an addition to Gmail? But really I think Google is a little late on this release, and it sure isn't an Android!

Here is a little video of what it can do for you.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/xwnJ5Bl4kLI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

So apparently there are 6 things that Google+ can do that Facebook cannot. Most of them I wouldn't find myself doing anyways. Watch the video and check out this webpage for the full out story.

Update : I must admit, i didn't watch the video until this blog had already been posted, it's pretty neat... I definitely will give it a try, but I still don't see it taking too much away from the juggernaut that Facebook is...

-NS