Slashdot Mirror
Google Trying to Lure Celebs to Google+
alphadogg writes "Part of the buzz this week about Google+ is that Google is reportedly working to lure celebrities such as Lady Gaga to its new social network service with verified accounts. Not sure if tech big shots beyond Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg count as celebrities, but the list of the technology industry's biggest names using Google+ is on the rise. Dell chief Michael Dell – yes, the real Michael Dell — has grabbed headlines for his early enthusiasm for Google+ and interest in using it as a newfangled customer support and interaction tool. Open source movers and shakers like Linus Torvalds, Miguel de Icaza are also posting away."
If they can get Mark Shuttleworth on board, they'll have Google+ replacing Thunderbird in Ubuntu by the next release...
Bill Gates will use it and be friends with Linus. Can't wait to see his profile...
It worked for Scientology after all.
Does this mean Google is finally evil, though?
Yes, having people who other people care about use your social network is a clear sign of desperation and not completely standard marketing.
You're dumb, I suggest not breathing anymore.
Google+ seems to have inherited several of these problems. And it provides no means for pointing them out to the development team...
... there's a "send feedback" button on the bottom right of every page.
And it's pretty nice, too. It takes a screenshot and allows you to highlight what items you're talking about in your note.
I just canceled my Facebook account (member since 2006), I will not be giving up my personal information to the king of data collection. No thank you.
Yes, Google is my default search engine but googleanalytics, recaptcha and googleapi are blocked.
^^vv<><>BA
Dude!
The simplest way to push Google+ is to leverage the noise-making power of fan-boys the world over. Imagine the volumes of traffic and the recruitment potential for Google+ if they can attract enthusiastic fanatics to fight classic holy wars such as:
VI vs EMACS
Harvard vs Yale
Liverpool vs Manchester United
Edward vs Jacob
Barbie vs. G.I. Joe
With the trolls so distracted, maybe they'll leave slashdot in peace for the rest of us, at least for a while.
Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
Both Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day are pretty active users of Google+. I know that these people aren't going to draw in your everyday user, but I'm sure entertained by Wesley Crusher posting videos of cats on the internet.
Oh, you're dissing Google... that's going to land you in Circle #6 (Heresy)...
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
Strong typed and object oriented, only bots and web crawlers can join, but there are BILLIONS of them. You know, the Internet of Things, so farsighted of them.
Social networking offers up far more information than name and gender my friend.
^^vv<><>BA
What about those of us who want to get on Google+ but don't want to go through the effort of making friends?
I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
Then you get sent an unsolicited invite. Check your inbox.
End of lesson. You may press the button.
Yes, having people who other people care about use your social network is a clear sign of desperation and not completely standard marketing.
You're dumb, I suggest not breathing anymore.
Honestly just about all of marketing looks like desperate pandering to me. By that I mean celebrity endorsements, bandwagon appeals, misleading statements, you know, just about anything other than letting the product or service stand on its own merits.
Just because it's standard practice doesn't make it less true. That a singer really enjoys Google+ has no bearing whatsoever on whether I am going to enjoy it. At least if it were someone famous for technical skill like Linus Torvalds or Alan Cox the endorsement would make sense, as one would assume people like that would recognize and appreciate a well-designed system.
But then they aren't going for a "here's why we have a superior service and this is what it can do for you" approach. They're trying to piggyback on the emotional hysteria surrounding a trendy performer. I guess the audience who happen to like pop are supposed to think something like this: "wow I sure like Lady Gaga's music, therefore it follows that I will like everything else she likes however far removed from music it may be -- yay, now I'm one step closer to becoming a clone of her, a truly worthy life goal indeed, surely that's better than having my own individual tastes and preferences". How is that not pandering?
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein