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Google+ Redesigned (blogspot.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Google has announced that its Google+ social network has received a major overhaul, which is rolling out today to users who opt in. The company says the new design focuses on the "Communities" and "Collections" sections of Google+, since those were the ones most well received by users. "[Product Director Luke] Wroblewski, known for his responsive and progressive design work, tells me that the key to this rollout is the consistent, mobile first experience that hasn't historically been a hallmark of G+." The article describes the new experience thus: "As you click through the new Google+ there is a lighter feel to it for sure. It's a product with more purpose, as before it felt like there was a million things flying at you. Notifications, +1's, share buttons. You were pretty much sharing things into a pit and hoping that Google would do fun things with them."

91 comments

  1. Google Plus by smittyoneeach · · Score: 4, Funny

    Google Plus
    A social fuss
    While Google ||||*
    Is trimming-ripe
    Burma Shave

    *pronounce "pipe"

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    1. Re:Google Plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You were pretty much sharing things into a pit and hoping that Google would do fun things with them.

      Isn't that what social networking is all about?

    2. Re:Google Plus by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      *rimming tripe

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
  2. Competitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Let us all know when they follow Tsu's business model.

  3. Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You fail many time!!!

  4. Just don't force me... by unixisc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ... to subscribe to Google+ to rate Android apps. That's really annoying

  5. Alphabet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All your plus are belong to us.

  6. A million things by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It's a product with more purpose, as before it felt like there was a million things flying at you.

    Every time I accidentally went there, it was a proverbial ghost town. A million things flying at me is not one of the issues I had with it.

    1. Re:A million things by dgatwood · · Score: 2

      Yeah, but now there will be twice as many active users!

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  7. 2016 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Year of the Google+ I knew it!!

    1. Re:2016 by bickerdyke · · Score: 1

      On desktop?

      --
      bickerdyke
  8. Just give me $100,000,000 now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It'll cost you less than the amount you'll waste on G+ before shuttering it entirely.

    Google execs, reply to this e-mail to arrange payment. Finder's payment of 25% for anyone who can get one responding.

    Regards.

  9. Clicked the link, saw the comments... by mekkab · · Score: 2

    and they were all just links to the announcement with a single sentence about the article, and a public share. Yeah, I'm not that excited and I'm never coming back.

    --
    In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
    1. Re:Clicked the link, saw the comments... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my case, it's going to be more than not going to G+ (I never bothered signing up for it or tying it to my gmail/etc the first time around).

      I was starting to consider finally signing up to other google services now that they weren't going to force G+ on me by doing so - but I think if google is going to try to promote G+ again, I'll wait on it another half year or so. Just to see if they get so full of themselves that they can repeat the same bullshit they did last time.

      (ie: did they learn people didn't want to be forced to sign up with their real name and/or link every google service to that account? Or did they "learn" to roll it out as quietly and slowly as possible to "boil the frogs".

  10. suprised by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Google+ is still alive?

    1. Re:suprised by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      Unfortunately, yes, but I'm hoping it will die soon.

      Google should just put their failed experiment out of its misery. Can anybody name somebody who loves Google+?

    2. Re:suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what I was wondering too. I wouldn't ever sign up for them because of the real name requirement which was too risky to bother with that. A celebrity has the same name as me and I don't want to lose access to my email because Google thinks I'm not using my real name. I'm looking for a job, so I can't afford to be cut off from my email.

    3. Re:suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google should just put their failed experiment out of its misery. Can anybody name somebody who loves Google+?

      I, me, myself?

    4. Re:suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A lot hobbyists like Google+ of which quite a few them have no desire to be on Facebook. I find the communities to be informative and have a signal to noise ratio. Specifically, I like the Board Games, Savage Worlds, and Cast Iron Cooking communities.

    5. Re:suprised by nightcats · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'll confess: I preferred G+ and wrote about it (before they started taking it apart).

      --
      Development is programmable; Discovery is not programmable. (Fuller)
    6. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like Google+, at least as much as I can like a social platform. If you use Google for everything, like email, chat, photos, etc... then G+ is great because the integration of all their products is superb - literally the best I've ever seen in my years. Everything can be linked together, and for the most part it's very intelligently designed. I don't really get all the G+ hate. I doubt that many bashers have ever actually used Google's products very much, or just like to bash Google to feel cool. The alternative is FB which is, well, FB. I don't trust Zuckerberg any farther than I could throw him. But with my bad knee I shouldn't really throw anybody...

    7. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FaceBook has a real name requirement too.

    8. Re:suprised by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

      Google+ is still alive?

      They've "redesigned" it to help it be successful - it now just links straight to Facebook.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    9. Re:suprised by Eythian · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Yeah, I use it a lot. I find it has a better signal-to-noise ratio than things like facebook.

    10. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FaceBook has a real name requirement too.

      Which they don't enforce unless someone reports the account.

      Google requires proof from the GET GO, making it a NO GO.

    11. Re:suprised by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      Why do you want it to die? I love it. It's the only social media I use. Is it fair turnabout if I say I hope that Facebook dies?

    12. Re: suprised by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I use Google+, but I don't use any other Google applications (other than Android). No gmail, no gphoto/picasa/whatever, no hangouts, no youtube (I stay logged out so it can't track me, I don't read/write comments there).

    13. Re: suprised by Buck+Feta · · Score: 1

      It must be hard for you, I mean, having the same name as him. I celebrate the guy's entire catalogue.

      --
      I am Audience.
    14. Re:suprised by by+(1706743) · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I use it a lot. I find it has a better signal-to-noise ratio than things like facebook. +1 Insightful this post if you agree!

      FTFY ;)

    15. Re:suprised by Eythian · · Score: 1

      Liked!

    16. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google should buy Twitter.

    17. Re:suprised by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      Don't you still need it to comment on youtube, rate Android apps, and pretty much any garbage they could think of to try to tie your real name to stuff?

    18. Re:suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a selfish individual. You want to take something away from others, just because you don't like it. Think about that for a second. What are you, a muslim extremist?

    19. Re: suprised by KGIII · · Score: 1

      This does not appear to be true. I've got a G+ account (I've never used it - I once was high and wanted to make a comment on YouTube because someone was wrong on the internet) and my real name is sure as hell not attached to that account, in any way, shape, or form.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    20. Re:suprised by KGIII · · Score: 1

      To paraphrase someone's signature (I forget who);

      "They said they improved G+. Nope. I looked, it's still there."

      Actually, to be honest, I do have one account that I've used to make a YouTube comment. I don't know much else beyond that. I can't really say if it's good or bad. Slashdot and other forums is about as much "social media" as I get.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    21. Re: suprised by Crowd+Computing · · Score: 1

      FaceBook has a real name requirement too.

      Which they don't enforce unless someone reports the account.

      Google requires proof from the GET GO, making it a NO GO.

      This might have been the case before. But now getting a G+ account appears to be as easy as thinking of a pseudonym more creative than John Doe. One thing I discovered is that I can actually change the name I used to create my gMail account into something else. So if I signed up as Iman Idiot, I can create a G+ account as Ima Troll.

    22. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For my money, I don't know if it gets any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman".

    23. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but losing access to my facebook account won't cut me off from my email, google drive, calendar, and all the other stuff I rely on like it will if google turns off my account.

    24. Re: suprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This.

  11. Communities? by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 2

    I went and took a look at the Game of Thrones community, seeing as that's apparently an example they wanted to highlight about how great this aspect of G+ is. It consists almost entirely of image macros. That is not what the word 'community' implies to me.

    I don't see how G+ can possibly ever get good at communities whilst it revolves around Facebook-sized pieces of text with giant images attached, and especially not whilst it insists on clipping posts and comments to just a couple of lines. When I'm on the internet I want to see WORDS and not endless idiotic memes posted over and over. I wish to be entertained and informed. G+ has no chance of doing either unless it redesigns a heck of a lot more than the stylesheets.

    1. Re: Communities? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every community has to start somewhere. You expect there to just magically be a thriving community there, but are not willing to help create a community...

    2. Re:Communities? by Eythian · · Score: 1

      So don't join that community then, if it doesn't suit your tastes.

      You're extrapolating on your dislike of a single example to everything. Everyone is terrible at stats and they're not going to get better while they're all using a single anecdote to support their point!

    3. Re:Communities? by TFlan91 · · Score: 1

      It's not a social network.

      http://thenextweb.com/socialme...

    4. Re:Communities? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I only use google plus to post when I am trying to get my work to rank. Google Search puts the google plus post up first and fastest compared to any other place I post. Other than that - I do not understand it and I just follow as many people as come up until I get bored. I follow any group or community that pops up and I have no idea what that means. I comment on a few posts a day and get little response for my effort. FB is another place where no one engages with me no matter what I post. However I found tsu in February 2015 and I am not looking back. Over there I get engagement, help with my work, traffic to my sites and ad revenue sharing. I mostly use my other social media to try to get my friends to come join me on tsu. Here is my invite link http://www.tsu.co/Sharonfitinfun I hope you will give it a shot. It will change your life as it has mine.

  12. Makes sense by Todd+Knarr · · Score: 2

    G+ has always had little of the Facebook-style indiscriminate "let the world see everything" of most social media, users have focused more on specific groups or communities with the conversations going on within that group and not in public view. The changes seem to make sense in focusing in on that rather than trying to be another Facebook or Twitter or SnapChat. It makes the pundits feel left out because they're outside those groups and not seeing the interactions, but that's easy enough to solve if they want to. If they don't... Not My Problem, Man.

  13. G+ by Dale512 · · Score: 2

    I've enjoyed Google+ overall. I get a lot less noise in my feeds than on FB. FB is where I keep up with extended family. G+ is where I go to find interesting things. I've got several communities I've joined that are pretty active and lots of good stuff gets posted.

  14. Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're obviously keeping the biggest improvement for later, since they have yet to announce that they're completely removing the G+ tentacles from all of their other services. But I'm really looking forward to that announcement and am sure they won't screw me over in the meantime! :D

    ...like when they stopped allowing YouTube comments if you weren't signed up for G+, preventing me from talking to my viewers.
    ...like when they finally forced me sign up for G+ since I couldn't otherwise manage a charity's YouTube account.
    ...like when they refused to permit the use of pseudonyms for several months there, even though many of us have globally unique names.
    ...like when they automatically created G+ pages auto-populated with their details for everyone signing up for any of their other services.
    ...like when they opted me in automatically to have my G+ images used for their marketing purposes.
    ...like when they enabled abusive exes to find the former targets of their abuse when they auto-friended contacts in Buzz.

    But hey, this time will be different. They're redesigning it so that it works better on the devices we use 24/7 and entrust with our most private information, which is totally cool, since they've admitted they made some mistakes and have said they're sorry.

    I think they mean it this time. Everything will be better.

    1. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My Android 2.3.6 phone still can't get access their app market without an @gmail.com address. More recent versions allow any Google account.

    2. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, that's pretty damning. Such arrogance from Google. Without Search funding everything else, I suspect Google would have gone out of business some time ago.

    3. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Search doesn't fund jack shit, it's likely to be a loss-leader anymore. AdWords funds a little, Gmail ads funds a little, and all the data they suck up from Android users funds the rest.

    4. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Eythian · · Score: 1

      since they have yet to announce that they're completely removing the G+ tentacles from all of their other services.

      Pay attention.

      They have announced that, months ago.

    5. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've announced that they will do it, but they haven't announced that it's been done yet. I've been waiting for months.

    6. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      Link? I recall something from a few months ago about decoupling G+, but it was not the complete decoupling I was discussing here. I also looked back through /. to August and didn't see anything relevant, so it must have been further back. But, I'm always open to being corrected and being provided with relevant information.

    7. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by caseih · · Score: 1

      It was announced but I've seen no evidence of it yet. I still can't so much as thumbs up a youtube video without being forced to sign up for google+.

    8. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      > They have announced that, months ago.

      Cool, so I'll expect it with fusion power, flying cars, and hoverboards.

      This means EITHER that they shit the bed so hard when they did this that they can't back it out without months of effort, or that it's all part of yet another corporate schedule, unaffected by technical timing. Each is lame for its own reasons.

    9. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You got a source for that? If not I'll just assume you're talking out of your arse.

    10. Re:Biggest improvement yet to come... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      Yeah, last I heard, the number for where their money was coming from was roughly 92% from advertising, with the other 8% being devices and services. I'm sure that the data they can gather ties in with some of the advertising, since it allows them to target the ads better and thus command a better price for them, but suggesting that it makes up the bulk of their revenue strikes me as being patently ridiculous, though I have no way to disprove the claim directly.

      Mind you, I'm the OP in this chain who clearly has a bone to pick with Google. And even I don't think that AC's claims make any sense.

  15. No shit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, G+ is slowly becoming what Orkut was...

    1. Re:No shit. by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      So, G+ is slowly becoming what Orkut was..

      How was Orkut? (I remember it was popular among some segments)

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:No shit. by Canth7 · · Score: 1

      So, G+ is slowly becoming what Orkut was..

      How was Orkut? (I remember it was popular among some segments)

      Orkut was great! I got an invite, logged in and forgot about it for years until Google announced that they were killing it. Google+ on the other hand annoys the crap out of me. Lets hope that eventually Google will get back to their Orkut roots.

  16. So... by hondo77 · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...Google has invented Yahoo Groups?

    --
    I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...Google has invented Yahoo Groups?

      Yahoo was done with it.

    2. Re:So... by technosaurus · · Score: 1

      Lets hope the redesign makes it as slow-loading as the Google Groups redesign
      Then the slowest loading mailing list on the net will have the company of the slowest loading BBS.
      Seriously, G+ needs to heed their own page speed advise.

  17. Don't change it, Googl! by Diddlbiker · · Score: 4, Funny

    I love Google+ It's like your cloud version of an encrypted drive. Anything I want to keep a secret, I post it on Google+ It will be seen by no one.

  18. Let it die already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    > Google has announced that its Google+ social network has received a major overhaul, which is rolling out today to users who opt in.

    Google, it sucks. Let it die. Stop trying to cram it down our throats. Everyone experiences failure now and again, but only you have the huge offshore bank accounts that can keep your failures alive.

  19. Re:Google shits out another fail by Kwyj1b0 · · Score: 1

    Another cigar feverishly brainwashes an unruffled bodice ripper. He called her the Interloper (or was it Timosha?). A somnambulist daydreams, but the bride beyond a ballerina eagerly steals pencils from a toothpick. Jacques, although somewhat soothed by a labyrinth near a snow and some seldom lowly gypsy, still can be kind to her from the sprightly gypsy, can be kind to her a trombone related to a maestro with a likeable onlooker, and slyly boogies the dark side of her alchemist.

    She prepared to enter The Scary Door.

  20. Yeah right by rebelwarlock · · Score: 1

    "Hey guys, we changed our stylesheet!"

    Nope, still don't care.

  21. Facebook: get a clue! your "groups" are important by Verity_Crux · · Score: 1

    Groups are a neglected feature of Facebook. They seem to not understand the "communities can come together" concept. They focus on "communities around the popular" rather than equal participation groups. If Facebook would, uh, lift a few ideas from group management and layout inside G+, the latter would die an ignominious death. If we could just merge and fork groups on Facebook we might have something...

  22. Re:Just don't force me... by invictusvoyd · · Score: 1

    to subscribe to Google+ to rate Android apps. That's really annoying

    That way they get some users .. forcibly . It gives this unwanted failure of a service a budget to stay alive . Why? I don't know.

  23. Anti social by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The internet was better without all these social media share sites. What was wrong with IM, email and this type of forum? Nothing.

    1. Re: Anti social by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The vast majority of users disagrees with you so suck it up, social networks have taken over the internet and reshaping it. It's not going away, just as appliance computing and the concept of computing as a service are only getting stronger every day. In a decade, you won't be able to buy a general purpose computer either. Get over it.

  24. Nope, still looks like ass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And is completely unusable.

    Try again, Google.

    Hint: Contrast and Readability are not bad things.

  25. I miss simple by kassay · · Score: 1

    Please bring back iGoogle....... Not everyone wants social media..... ack, I still gag every time I utter that phrase.

    1. Re:I miss simple by DrXym · · Score: 1

      I moved back to My Yahoo when iGoogle disappeared.

    2. Re:I miss simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Looks like http://slashcdn.com/sd/comment... needs updating...

  26. My problem with Google+ by DrXym · · Score: 1

    Like all "social" networks, Google+ can't help itself from bothering me for more information. Do I know these people, where did I go to school, etc. Interstitial questions and unclosable boxes that want more personal info. As a result I rarely use the service at all. I realise this is a radical idea but a simple "stop bugging me" option might make me more inclined to use the service. I'm sure they'll still gather usage info when I'm on their site and of course make money from ad revenues. Just stop fucking bothering me.

  27. Is Google + still around? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I did not know Google + was even being marketed by Google anymore let alone updated. Well I guess Google has enough cash to keep anything alive even Google +.

  28. Not Popular = Bad by Merk42 · · Score: 1

    Just like Linux on the desktop! They should just both die already since no one uses them.

    1. Re:Not Popular = Bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Using Linux on the desktop doesn't stop anyone from posting a YouTube comment. G+ does that. This isn't about its unpopularity, it's about the heavy-handed coercion.

    2. Re:Not Popular = Bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, it is the video drivers that stop Linux folks from posting on YouTube. Completely different. :D /me ducks n hides.

  29. "You've never quit on anything--like smoking!" by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 1

    I thought we had all agreed we're not doing this Google Plus thing.

    This isn't like a cardiologist attempting to resuscitate his patient after his heart stops on the operating table. This is like a cardiologist attempting to resuscitate his patient three days after his heart stops, as they're lowering the casket into the ground.

    1. Re: "You've never quit on anything--like smoking!" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep.

      As I recall, Facebook shot their foot with privacy issue, G+ launched, everyone wanted in, Google made it invite only, Google went super creepy with real name only, the initial group said meh, their friends said no, it's the thriving hub of social interaction for dozens of dorks today.

  30. Re:Just don't force me... by Hotawa+Hawk-eye · · Score: 2

    It also means that some people (like myself) who would otherwise rate an Android app (I was sorely tempted to rate both The Room and The Room 2 as 5 stars) will turn away rather than dealing with Google Plus.

  31. I was saying boo-urns by wardrich86 · · Score: 1

    Some days I feel like the only fan of Google+.

  32. Re:Just don't force me... by citizenr · · Score: 1

    or comment on YT

    --
    Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
  33. Re:Just don't force me... by allo · · Score: 1

    You do not want to comment on youtube and you do not want to read the comments there. It's the facebook type of people, who comment there.