Never before has an invite been so hotly hunted down since Willy Wonka put golden tickets in his chocolate bars. Today, Google is Willy Wonka and I am Charlie.
As news of Google’s new social platform Google+ filtered out I’ve been chomping at the bit to take a peek at what’s been dubbed ‘the Facebook killer’. One would question whether we need another social platform, but having seen inside Google+ I’d argue we do - because Google have got it right.
Over recent years I’ve felt that although Facebook has become THE social platform, it’s become a little confusing in certain parts and has lost some of its core functionality. Let’s face it, you’re on it because all your friends are. And that’s great - that’s what social is about! But what if someone came along, reduced the clutter, made a cleaner interface, allowed you to segment your connections, even ‘hangout’ with them, chat….just take it all back to basics. That’s what Google have done with Google+.
It’s taken social back to what it should be - circles of friends (hence your groups being called Circles). The added control of being able to decide who your messages/comments/photos are shown to so easily is something that has lacked in Facebook - I don’t want this control hidden deep down in privacy settings.
Design wise it’s great looking. There are no ads on the nav bars, but when this is rolled out further I’m sure Google Adwords will appear somewhere on the page (shame). But I also wonder what else Google have up their sleeve for added functionality (Google Apps/Web Store?).
For now Google have locked down invites due to overwhelming demand, something that happened with Google Wave (yeah, remember that?!). I hope they open it back up soon as part of the fun, and the point, is being social with your friends. I for one don’t want to see this go the way of Wave. Facebook killer? Not yet, but maybe one day…
Have you got hold of a Google+ invite? What are your thoughts so far? Let us know by commenting below.
Most of us have seen the fantastic VW advert with the child Darth Vader (if not click here to catch up…). I’ve not seen anything as inspired since Old Spice man (he’s on a horse don’t you know).
Today Greenpeace’s clever response to this ad has gone viral. Their microsite www.vwdarkside.com is a direct, albeit fun, response to VW’s advert highlighting their opposition to key environmental laws. Clever this one is…better than RIM’s Playbook dig at the iPad which comes across as more of a petty and desperate USP.
Parody’s are nothing new but this takes a clever ad and rolls the joke even further. Can this hurt VW? From an environmental stand point yes, but by piggybacking the VW ad are Greenpeace not just giving more promo to the car?
Let’s hope it’s not going to backfire and do a Lando…
Or, I hope I Tweet before I get old - talking about the Facebook generation. Many of whom would probably remember ‘My Generation’ when it first came out. You see social networks, Facebook especially, are now bit with the over 50s.
According to Nielson, membership to Facebook grew by 41% for the period 2009 to 2011. But amazingly it grew 81% with older users. This trend is also echoed on Twitter, but whereas younger users have stayed with Facebook, they’ve drifted away from Twitter.
This is an interesting change and one that challenges the stereotyped image of the bumbling silver surfer.
Looking from a business/marketing perspective, this opens up social platforms to a stable demographic who are more receptive to advertising and also easier to monetize than a younger audience. They may also be more cash rich than a younger audience.
However, the flip side is that younger users may start to leave social networks as they see their parents and grandparents pop up in, or god forbid comment on, their feeds. I remember the day my dad said he was going to “try out this Facebook” now he’s retired. A little part of me wondered how I’d deal with his friend request (is it wrong to ignore?!) and if he’d realise I’d blocked him from seeing some of my status updates.
It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out and which way up the coin will land. I for one can’t see my folks using Facebook at all, let alone in a way that would lead them to be influenced by advertising. Especially as long as one of them refers to it as FaceSpace.
Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings has been added to the ever growing board of Facebook. This is an interesting move that could suggest Facebook’s moving into online media, further enforced by their forthcoming tie up with Spotify. But scratch beneath the surface and a more interesting theory pops up.
Reed Hastings also sits on Microsoft’s board of directors. Microsoft happen to have a $240 million stake in Facebook. Call me Columbo, but that makes me think this move is also a political one, acting to bring Facebook and Microsoft closer together. Could this be why when Apple came-a-courting Facebook weren’t interested?
But Twitter were. Twitter is integrated into the new iOS 5 and such integration is surely a sign of favouritism to that platform. Previous performance shows that Apple tend to buy companies and rebadge them as their own, or integrate the product into their systems.
It’s interesting to see moves such as this because it shows the old lines in the sand are still drawn. But there aren’t just two camps now. There’s also Google who tend to do their own thing. What we’re seeing is a move towards a unified web - integration across all sites and platforms (e.g. Facebook Open Graph) - ans as the behemoths start to align with other key names in the industry, it makes for an interesting growth in the digital world and one that ultimately benefits us users.
Social media start up Involver today announced a new Facebook gating system that works using Klout. Essentially your Facebook influence, which will be measured using Klout, will allow you access to certain brands fan pages or apps on Facebook. Not only that but your score can open a world of perks again depending on your Klout score.
Press releases are quoting this as ‘personalisation for brands’. Yet I can’t help but see this as the creation of elitism for certain brands, a marketing initiative which could cost them some of their core market who are excluded for not choosing to engage with, or are new to, social media/Facebook.
I question whether better practice would be to utilise the Facebook Open Graph protocol and start looking at user interaction, relationships etc. Maybe start rewarding for ‘Liking’?
To me Klout scoring is a strange way to value your customer or add value to your brand - call it extreme niche marketing. It’ll be interesting to see how this progresses and what the user reaction is. I can imagine it’s going to annoy some as much as it pleases others.
The Apple rumour mill turned itself up to eleven as Bloomberg published it’s ‘what to expect from the iPhone 5 and iPad 3′ report. The rise in internet gossip is no surprise after Apple announced iOS 5 a few weeks back.
However, rumours are scant at best - faster processer, better camera - and are pretty much a given. Judging by the hammering my iPhone 3Gs is getting on iOS 5 at the moment (read that article here), Apple building tech to suit its OS is a must.
But I have a little, niggling problem with the Apple machine. Not just the lovely, physical iMachines, but also the juggernaught that is the free PR machine of Apple. Let me explain before you start pointing fingers and shouting ‘Judas’. I’m and Apple Fanboy like the best of them, but I’m becoming increasingly frustrated by buying a product to be told a month after I’ve bought it there’s a new one out at the end of the year (I’m referring to the iPad 2 here). It’s just come out and yet the iRumours say the iPad 3 will be out for Christmas. Gah.
I should have seen it coming really as they do like to release an iPhone every year, but when you really think about it there’s little advancement to justify this. A faster processor is nice, but is it worth forking out more money for?
It’s all about the iOS really, but then is that enough? This Fanboy thinks not. Apple have done what they do best here - packaged the product up in a nice ‘look at the shiney-shiney’ keynote speech, with lovely Apple design and graphics (damn it, they are beautiful), in order to distract you from the obvious - Google Android has been doing it for longer, and iCloud is just Mobile Me rebranded with added Spotify.
This Fanboy is starting to think the iShine is wearing off. Yes, the Apple OS and Macbooks are superb and way better than any Windows offering. The iPad is a game changer and imitators are struggling, but will that change? The iPhone and iOS are great, but is it these days with great Android handsets flooding the market?
Maybe this is the much needed tipping point Apple need to spur them on to making giant leaps forward apposed to baby steps. I won’t pay £500+ for babysteps. I’ll wait for iPad 15 in a couple of years for that.
Another week, another ‘social media is bad’ news topic. This time it’s Facebook in the media eye, but not for the right reasons.
UK juror Joanne Fraill contacted a defendant on Facebook resulting in her being sentenced to eight months in prison for contempt of court. But why should Facebook be blamed for someones short sightedness (read ‘idiocy’).
British media loves to jump on a topic and strangle it to death until middle England is suitably pitch forked up and marching on Westminster, and target-de-jour is social media which annoys me. First it was Twitter over the Ryan Giggs debacle and now it’s Facebook because someone contacts someone they shouldn’t.
What’s forgotten is that although the platforms people use may well be the enabler, it’s people that are the problem. In the case of Twitter, people were stating what others already knew but they were doing so in a public forum which is where the legal boundary comes in. But you can’t stop people communicating. I would imagine the same issue was discussed via email or down the pub much more than through Twitter.
When it comes to the Facebook case, this is purely ‘misguided’ user error. Would anyone have ever known had the defendant not mentioned it to her solicitor? Probably not, but it sure makes a good tabloid story. And that’s the point - it’s sensationalisation.
Social media is increasingly becoming part of everyday life. It’s a new communication tool; the telephone of this generation. There were many objectors and sensasionalists over that ‘new’ technology, but phone tapping aside it’s an accepted part of our modern framework.
So before blaming the platform, the broadsheets should step back and look at the user. Maybe social media and web training should start in the classroom so future generations aren’t so ‘silly’.
Mrs H added another year to her collection this weekend so we decided to take a weekend away and chill out in the country. But my inner geek also saw an opportunity to test out the new iOS 5 BETA for the iPhone 3Gs…well, because it had new camera functionality so….that’s my reasoning anyway. Loading a new iOS before going away can be a gamble, but loading a BETA version can bring the hardiest geek out in a cold sweat. My poker game nerves paid off as I’ve yet to experience an out of the ordinary glitch (touch wood….a whole forest of oak in fact).
I’m glad to report that iOS 5 is impressive. When first fired up it felt no different than the current iOS apart from a few new icons on the main screen - reminders, news stand, and the new music and videos icons (iPod seemed to be missing from this BETA version so assume it’s now split). Reminders is a welcome addition to the iOS as the current notes app didn’t quite fulfil the requirements of a forgetful so-and-so. Yes, there are existing apps for that in the App Store but the location based integration that Apple promises is an exciting prospect for the full release. I can’t comment on news stand at this time as it’s currently a US based functionality.
As mentioned, I wanted to test the improved photo capability of the new iOS. A welcome addition is the quick launch camera button on the lock screen, great when you want that spur of the moment shot. That said, you do need to double tap the home button for it to appear on the lock screen. Another improvement is the new shutter button - you can now take a picture using the volume up button which is much easier, and more camera like, than touching the screen. There are editing capabilities in the new iOS but they’re not available for the 3Gs, one would assume because of processer power.
But my favourite enhancement by far is the new notification center. I had a real issue that Apple were slow to deliver what the Android platform has had for years - a slicker way of showing when you received mail and also social feed updates. Finally, it’s here and Apple do it with style. A quick slide down of the thumb from the top of the screen pulls down the notification center. A good comparions is the dashboard on the Apple OS. Here you can see the weather, the stocks ticker (wasted on me) plus emails you’ve received, missed calls, texts, and updates from Facebook and Twitter. When the phone is locked these updates all show in a nice, combined and organised update list so you don’t need to access the phone straight away to see that your new emails are just spam. Another nice touch is whilst using apps a small ticker pops up at the top of the screen to show you what’s been received, and then scrolls away tidily.
Whilst speaking about social, the fact that Twitter is integrated within the iOS is a nice feature for its users. I’ve also been able to log a few Twitter accounts which has helped keep up to date with everything. Shame there’s no Facebook integration but guess Zuckerberg and Jobs have their reasons.
As a multiple Apple user I’ve seen a nice touch when purchasing apps. When buying an app on my iPad (still iOS 4) an alert came up on my iPhone saying I could download the same app on multiple devices. Nice touch.
Sorry to say there’s no news on the iCloud feature at the moment as it’s not even launched. But looking in the settings area there appears to be a lot to come.
Overall, iOS 5 looks like a good step forward for the platform. The new features will keep my support, and money, with Apple. Android has been gaining my attention recently but Apple have done what they do well - lock you in to their devices and platforms with cross device integration.
UPDATE 15th June 2011
After a few more days of using iOS 5 I’ve found the following issues:
iPhone heats up when listening to music on Spotify. One morning it got so hot I had to turn it off to cool it down.
The battery life had diminished. I’d put this down to the notification center. But I’ve hardly used the iPhone outside of my pre iOS 5 use and it’s 2/3rds empty.
Sometimes Wi Fi doesn’t work or lock onto my home connection. Restart sorts this out.
The call function has some niggles - screen doesn’t refresh - but nothing too major.
6:30pm - iPhone death. Battery completely gone despite half hour charge in the day. Usually lasts all day on no charge.
Hopefully the next beta will sort some of these out.
Facebook releases a new feature without telling users. Europe goes mad. Some users quit Facebook altogether. European Union data-protection regulators swoop in to investigate. Next we’ll be seeing ‘Facebook ate my hamster’ headlines.
I think everyone needs to calm down and stop for a moment before someone busts a blood vessel - it’s not as bad as the press is making out. The process of tagging friends in uploaded photos has been there for a long time and I know a number of people who use it and love it. What face recognition does is make this process easier for the user - it gives you suggestions of your friends in that photo so you can tag them. Surely that is a good thing, no?! If you’re worried about that then I’d recommend you have a cull of your ‘friends’ on Facebook as I think that’s your real issue.
Where I think the issue lies is with Facebook not being transparent with releasing the feature. Essentially it’s a change of a users privacy settings and as such requires notification. The feature was announced to US users before it’s release but the EU seems to have been left in the dark to any switching on of the feature. What Facebook should have done is set the default to off and then let users opt in to the feature.
Part of me can’t help but think this is the press jumping on the social media bandwagon as more legal claims and investigations are made into the role of social media, the recent Twittergate being a prime example. On this occasion though I hope Facebook’s listened to its users and will be a but more careful in the future.
Yesterday evening UK time, Preacher Man Steve Jobs addressed his congregation and they said ‘It was good’. iCloud. Lion. iOS5 - it was all there as expected. But looking past the Apple shine, does this move forward really provide the game changer that we’re used to seeing from Apple? This fanboy thinks not.
As a subscriber to MobileMe for the past few years I’m used to most of the services put on offer at yesterdays conference. I’m not a believer, as many are, that Mobile Me was the elephant in the room of Apple’s product delivery. In fact I’ve been an advocate and it’s nice to see that the offering is going to be free under the iCloud name. But to me this looks like a re-badge of the Mobile Me platform with the added advantage of adding music to the mix. This is a logical step for Apple in order to boost its iTunes offering and to the US market it’s a big deal, but as a European consumer I’m used to Spotify (not available in the US at present) which offers a similar, and in some way better, product. That said, the dangled carrot of paying $25 to have your ripped music upgraded to 256 VBR is a very tempting carrot indeed.
The revised Apple OS’s are interesting in different ways. Lion (coming in at a fantastic £20.99 upgrade price) looks set to unify the iOS and OS look and feel, possibly paving the way for touch screen iMac’s and Macbook Pro’s (yes please!). As a fan of the existing OS, I’m exciting by the offering here. But I’m less ‘wowed’ by the iOS update. Integrated Twitter functionality paves the way for the platform’s longevity but this is something Android, especially HTC handsets, have been doing for longer. And iMessage is borrowed, albeit improved, from Blackberry’s BBM. I feel that Apple’s claims that this will kill SMS and MMS messaging are premature.
What Apple have succeeded in is tying consumers into their brand. I have a MacBook Pro, iPhone, and iPad so the fact that OS’s are in sync is fantastic but nothing new to an existing Mobile Me subscriber. Apple are fantastic at their products, but other companies are making great leaps forward in their OS and platforms. For now I remain loyal to the Church of Steve Jobs, but as the new Church of Eric Schmidt continues to grow and improve maybe I’ll change philosophy.
