Google Plus aka Emerald Sea

[Kolzig]

So now they've unveiled their Facebook killer or whatever this latest product is.

My friend told me some weeks ago that Google is working on a product to replace Facebook with. They really desperately want to get their hands on the social media market.

https://plus.google.com/

Buzz was a big failure, also Wave was a failure and propably this will be one also.

Invite only like Gmail was originally.

[toblix]

It's worth mentioning that Wave wasn't an attempt at a new Facebook, but rather a new email. In my (not very informed) opinion, it was an awesome technology that solved all the problems I experience with simple email. Unfortunately they went about launching it like huge fools and now it's doomed. You can still get it and play around with it, but I expect it'll be at least another five years before someone takes a stab at replacing email.

[Gwardinen]

Yeah I actually thought Wave was fairly neat from a technological standpoint. Some friends and I used to use it for keeping track of things during a tabletop RPG session over Skype. But as toblix said, the launch was awful and it was never really explained what Wave was "for". This isn't entirely Google's fault, as it could potentially be "for" many things, but it did mean Wave never really had an identity for people to easily explain or understand.

[JonCole]

I feel like Wave was completely useless until I found the exact uses for it once it was gone. Working on game of the year podcasts, collaborative ideas for editorial, etc are were great for it but it was a very specific tool that they kinda trotted out as something much larger. That said, I wish Google didn't kill stuff so often, because I could use Wave now for a few things.

[elmuerte]

So... google+ is the new orkut?

[subbes]

Wave is still operational - I have a Wave open in the next tab, for instance - though it does have some bugs and it mysteriously stopped working on the iPhone browser.

It aten't ded yet.

[subbes]

So... google+ is the new orkut?

No no no, google+ is the new Friendster.

[Lu]

I would have a look at it if Googles shit actually worked in Chrome. Got this weird bug thing going on where it doesn't save any settings even if I have all cookies enabled, delete all my cookies, try again, etc. etc.

Just can't get it to work.

[Ben X]

Yeah, Wave was great for game dev - working on the DnB eps was so much easier without hundred-long email threads with quote towers.

[DanJW]

Agreed on Google Wave. I think they just failed on explaining it properly. I'm not even sure I properly grokked it, although I am sure there's something cool to grok.

[MrHoatzin]

I was fond of Wave. If only we could've made all our account executives and clients use them overnight, mail would become a quaint antiquity some clung to, like irc.

Buzz was really creepily launched and it made me delete my google profile...

I dunno, I think after they've been humbled by a couple of extravagant flops. I think they will be a lot more deliberate and careful with this one. I think this one may be different. I am no fan of Facebook and would eagerly look at viable alternatives.

[Forbin]

I think Wave is now with Apache. Which means something may come out of it that's somewhat usable for small businesses and stand-alone instances, but as a social platform it's dead for sure. A bunch of it's features have creeped into other Google products.

Google+ looks interesting. If anybody has an invite, let me know, I'd love to try it out.

[Hermie]

Ok, so I'm in now. It's definitely right in between facebook and twitter, with a twist of Google.

I like the Circles concept, I am always annoyed about all the stupid people I went to school with on facebook, sharing inane things, so I can just shove them off in a circle somewhere, while still having other with people I actually care about (and you can "follow" people like on twitter, even not knowing them).

Though, the best potential so far is the "hangout" thing. Right now I'm just playing stupid youtube videos with my girlfriend and some buddies, and I can see this being a regular occurrence in the future.

I got to invite The Toblix through some gallery wizardry, so if you want to try the same, send me your e-mail I guess?

[Nachimir]

Likewise, willing to try inviting people, though that way of getting people in seemed to stop working for me after 16:00 yesterday.

I'm liking it a lot so far. Facebook tried something similar with groups, but the continual redesigns and privacy fiascos made it pretty useless. The only use I put it to was to define very, very small group of people who I didn't want persistently annoying me on chat any more, so I could turn it off just for them.

I hear that if your webcam is on and you remove your top, Google+ automatically starts a hangout for you.

[DanJW]

It's pretty slick. Agreed on the circles/groups thing. I make as much use as I can of Facebook's group settings (most people don't even know its there) but it's still pretty limited.

I think the crunch period for Plus will be the point - that comes on all social networks - when businesses and events start using it. It's always a hideous square peg/round hole situation, although Facebook have finally arrived at something workable, although not terribly effective for promoters. It was a bit dicey for a bit though and it definitely hit Myspace awkwardly. Most often people start setting up multiple accounts to use as whatever they're promoting, generating a horrible amount of noise in the social arena.

[subbes]

I wouldn't say no to an invite.

Other things I would not say no to:

• ten thousand dollars
  
• a hot dog
  
• a new pair of trousers
  

[Murdoc]

google wave came out? I wondered what happened to that, I really loved googles msn killer, that really took off, along with Buzz; two heavy hitters right there.

[MrHoatzin]

Sometimes I can't say if people are being cynical or what. If I didn't use AIM at work, I would never use anything but Google Chat—whereas the Buzz thing really did die a glorious death at birth.

[subbes]

But that hasn't stopped them using the icon everywhere.

[MrHoatzin]

They'll get through all the stages of grief eventually.

[Lu]

Uuuh. Not sure how I feel about that yet...

[JonCole]

Uuuh. Not sure how I feel about that yet...

I don't really understand the usage of a Google profile if not to manage a public online identity.

[MrHoatzin]

Meh, everyone knows my name and gender as it is.

Ultimately I think Google is just sore at Facebook for creating a private internet to them inaccessible, so they're trying to not make that, while making that.

I wonder when I will be able to consolidate the half dozen different email accounts I have into one online person.

[Nachimir]

I'm finding this really good so far. That may be because it already has a good mix of people I know from work, twitter and real life. Facebook functionality with asymmetric relationships: Big from me.

Circles create nuanced privacy options that everything else I know of has lacked so far, and they've implemented them with a nice degree of automation, i.e. after a while it seems to default to the set of circles you share things with the most.

I'm finding the email invite loophole isn't working at all for people now. Presumably they built that in deliberately to create a rush, and are going as exclusive as they pretended to be now it's populated. The biggest problem I found with Buzz (as well as the insane memory consumption of long threads) was getting in then finding no one there.

[MrHoatzin]

I DON'T KNOW ANY OF YOUR REAL NAMES. HOW AM I GOING TO ADD YOU TO THIS DAMN SERVICE?!

This is me.