If your Google + account has been gathering dust over the past few months, you’ll find a nice surprise when you log in again. In response to the dwindling activity in its flagship social network, Google announced the start of a major re-design to reinvigorate Google +, starting with a more visually appealing layout and easier navigation. Will these changes make Google + anymore valuable for your business? Read on to find out.
The vision driving these new changes can be summed up in Google Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra’s words,
“A critical piece of this social layer is a design that grows alongside our aspirations,” Mr. Gundotra wrote. “So today we’re introducing a more functional and flexible version of Google Plus. We think you’ll find it easier to use and nicer to look at, but most importantly…by focusing on you, the people you care about, and the stuff you’re into, we’re going to continue upgrading all the features you already know and love — from Search and Maps to Gmail and YouTube. With today’s foundational changes we can move even faster — toward a simpler, more beautiful Google”.
Among the changes we’ll be seeing are, here are a few of the updates you can look forward to:
Navigation
Google have amped up the navigation with a dynamic ribbon of applications on the left which makes it easier to access your favorites and adjust your preferences. With this:
* You can drag apps up or down to create the order you want
* You can hover over certain apps to reveal a set of quick actions
* You can show or hide apps by moving them in and out of “More”
Conversations
Google is working towards making conversations easier to engage in hopes “to make sharing more awesome by making it more evocative” through the addition of:
* Full bleed photos and videos that’ll make you really proud to post
* A stream of conversation “cards” that make it easier to scan and join discussions
* An activity drawer that highlights the community around your content
Hangouts
Google + Hangouts has been one of their big trump cards over Facebook so this of course received a makeover with a dedicated Hangouts page that creates even more opportunities to connect in person, including:
* An always-updated list of invitations from the people in your circles
* Quick access to every public and On Air hangout, for those times when you want to meet someone new, or watch a live broadcast
* A rotating billboard of popular hangouts, pro tips and other items you don’t want to miss
Profile page
Not surprisingly, Google takes a leaf from Facebook’s Timeline by adding its own giant cover photo.
For better or worse?
Google + already presents considerable benefits in the area of SEO (Details on how Google Plus helps your search engine ranking can be found here). But what about the social benefits? The redesign has added some functionality that will help marketers. For example, you can easily see who shared a post or who +1ed it. Essentially it is designed to ease the transition for users from Facebook to Google + and increase interaction in its social network. The new hangouts in particular offer greater opportunities for marketers to use it as a platform for webinars and other related video chat promotions.
Will Google +’s redesign help or hinder its use for your business? Let us know in the comments section below.
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