Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Reviews

    Google Plus Going Strong, But No ‘At Symbol’ in Sight

    By
    Jason Brooks
    -
    July 26, 2011
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      It’s been about a month since Google opened up its new social networking service, Google Plus. In that time, the membership of the service (now around 20 million users) has grown at a healthy clip. Google Plus has also stacked up a few mini-controversies, led by a flap over whether and how Google ought to enforce its rules against creating pseudonymous profile accounts on the service.

      I’ve continued to use Google Plus over the two weeks since I last blogged on the topic, and, while it’s been good to see more familiar faces on the service, I’m sorry to say that none of the minuses I cited in that previous post have yet been addressed.

      For one thing, the Google Plus Web and mobile applications are, still, very poor places for consuming content. There are no mechanisms for filtering or sorting content by topic, and, as far as I can tell, no sign of any such mechanisms. Noisy “Plussers” who post everything to their Public circle can still dominate one’s main stream, and the all-or-nothing options of uncircling or blocking heavier users are unsatisfactory solutions.

      Along similar lines, the continued absence of any public API for the service bars others from improving the interface. “If only I could read my stream with Google Reader,” is my constant refrain – Reader’s sort by date and sort by “magic” would make the service significantly more worthwhile for me.

      I suppose I wouldn’t be feeling as disappointed by what appears to be Google’s lack of attention to these matters if not for the excellent podcast that Google Plus engineer Jospeh Smarr recorded with IEEE’s Steven Cherry shortly after the Google Plus launch. In the podcast, which I suggest you check out, Smarr discussed what Google has in mind for bringing federation and openness to social networking.

      In the interview, Smarr likened the state of social networking today to email systems before the @ symbol was invented, when users could send messages to others on the same domain, but not between systems. As Smarr laid it out, Google plans to give social networking its @ symbol – it’s a heartening vision, but I’ve seen no details on the common protocols and open standards Google has in mind for delivering on these goals, or on how can people get involved in the process.

      What’s more, given that the #1 topic on Google Plus appears to be Google Plus itself, I’m surprised that I’ve encountered little demand that Google speed up the roadmap for or at least share details of its coming APIs, and even less talk of federation.

      It’s clear that Google built its new social service with solid content sharing controls at its foundation. I’m hoping that federation and openness are also part of the Google Plus base – even if there’s no evidence of it yet.

      Jason Brooks
      As Editor in Chief of eWEEK Labs, Jason Brooks manages the Labs team and is responsible for eWEEK's print edition. Brooks joined eWEEK in 1999, and has covered wireless networking, office productivity suites, mobile devices, Windows, virtualization, and desktops and notebooks. Jason's coverage is currently focused on Linux and Unix operating systems, open-source software and licensing, cloud computing and Software as a Service. Follow Jason on Twitter at jasonbrooks, or reach him by email at jbrooks@eweek.com.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×