Tag Archives: Google

Social Network Wars Explained

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Social media networks want more users. Of course if you’re trying to grow your social network then it makes sense that you use your users’ existing connections .. So a lot of social networks tap into the data available via Twitter, Facebook and other services.

Of course by doing this they can upset each other .. end result you see social networks blocking access to each other. Sometimes it’s pretty petty, but it’s still fascinating to watch.

The guys over at Hootsuite used a Game of Thrones style analogy to visually represent what’s been going on:

GoT-social-infographic-final1

Via

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Facebook Buys Instagram For One Billion, But Who Else Was In The Running?

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Last weekend the news broke that Facebook was acquiring Instagram for $1 billion. Needless to say the tech news circles were buzzing with this announcement all week.

According to an article on TheNextWeb Twitter had also tried to acquire them, but failed.

And others suggest that Google may have been trying to acquire them ..

 

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Google+ Gets Games

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It was only a matter of time before Google+ would start expanding its offering to users.

The first addition being rolled out to users is games, which are accessible via the subtle new button in the interface:

Google Plus Games Added

A new icon on the far right is for games in Google+

So what’s on offer?

On my own account I’m seeing a range of 16 games including a couple of titles from Zynga and of course “Angry Birds”:

Google plus range of browser based games

Google plus range of browser based games

As soon as you click on a game to play it you get a fairly clear warning message telling you that the game is “social” and that your activity may be visible to others:

Google plus social games privacy warning

Google plus social games privacy warning

The next screen isn’t that different from the type of permissions dialogue you’d get on other social networks, though the wording is possibly a bit clearer (though I might be imagining that):

Google plus games permissions dialogue

Google plus games permissions dialogue

So what will the next addition to Google+ be?

 

Why Is Google+ Full Of Animated Gifs?

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Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

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If you are using Google+ you’ll probably have noticed that there are a very large number of animated gifs being shared.

Normal photos, images and videos are also being shared, but there seems, to me at least, to be a very large volume of animated gifs

So will Google+ result in an upswing in popularity for the image format?

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Google To Kill Off Private Profiles

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As Google rejigs its entire user interface and renames a bunch of its services to fit in with its new web 3.0 (or whatever) vision user profiles are being changed. ….

From July 31st 2011 private profiles are being not only disabled, but actually deleted:

The purpose of Google Profiles is to enable you to manage your online identity. Today, nearly all Google Profiles are public. We believe that using Google Profiles to help people find and connect with you online is how the product is best used. Private profiles don’t allow this, so we have decided to require all profiles to be public.

Keep in mind that your full name and gender are the only required information that will be displayed on your profile; you’ll be able to edit or remove any other information that you don’t want to share.

If you currently have a private profile but you do not wish to make your profile public, you can delete your profile. Or, you can simply do nothing. All private profiles will be deleted after July 31, 2011.

Google Buzz Boosts Buzzword Bingo Industry

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Social Media gurus rejoiced this week with the launch of Google’s latest service – Google Buzz

Expect to see plenty of “tempting” offers in the next few weeks from “experts” on how to “maximise” your “potential” using the latest Google service.

Google Wave was meant to revolutionise the web, so Google Buzz will, of course, flatten Twitter and takeover Facebook….

Or will it?

Does anyone really care?

Watch out for the low flying pigs

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I’m not a mechanic, so when I want my car serviced I take it to a garage as I can trust a qualified mechanic to do the job properly.

Unfortunately when you move into the wonderful realm of the internet real qualifications are few and far between. Sure, they do exist, but there aren’t as many real ones out there.

If you get an offer that sounds unbelievable then there’s probably a very good reason – it is unbelievable!

SEO (search engine optimisation) attracts a lot of “chancers” who over promise and underdeliver. You’ll also find that there are plenty of reputable companies offering SEO services, but how can you tell the difference?

If you don’t know a whole lot about SEO then you might fall into the trap and believe their lies.

“We guarantee your site will be on the first page of Google”

Sure you do.

“We guarantee that Google will index your site instantly”

I don’t think even Google would offer that kind of guarantee…

One company I know of is currently selling their “services” as “resellers” of Google. Neat trick! Use a well known name beside your own and only a small number of people will dare question you.

I might try that.

If you buy my services women will swoon before you!

Plausible?

I didn’t think so.

How about this one?

We can get you on the front page of  Google in the most prominent position in the sponsored links area (without paying per click)

The rest of their “wonderful offer” makes you wonder if people are that gullible:

GUARANTEED 1st page listings on your 5 most important key Phrases within 48 hours
No Contract / No Direct Debit / Pay As You Go / Results Only Marketing
ALL THIS FOR JUST £99 PLUS VAT PER MONTH!
PLUS A £20 ACTIVATION FEE TO GOOGLE.
MONTH 2 ONLY PAY PER PHRASE £20 EACH PHRASE OF YOUR CHOICE

Watch out for the low flying pigs!

Anyone who offers you “easy” success is not being completely honest with you.

If it was that easy we’d all be millionaires!

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