Understanding Google Plus

Google is a well-known player in the social space. In January 2004, it introduced a social network called Orkut. Back then, the dominant competitor was Friendster. Myspace had yet to make its debut, and Facebook was still more than a year away from its initial launch. Despite finding some success in countries like Brazil and India, Orkut never achieved global popularity.

This didn't deter Google from continuing to explore social platforms. In 2009, they released Google Wave, an innovative communication tool allowing users to exchange thoughts, links, and files in real-time in a flexible and interactive setting. However, Wave failed to attract a substantial user base — it was hard to explain to newcomers, and the limited beta program made it difficult to connect with others. Eventually, Google chose to discontinue Wave as a standalone offering.

The following year, Google introduced Google Buzz, a social networking tool designed to integrate with other Google services like Gmail. Google envisioned Buzz as a way for users to easily share links and updates, either with friends or the broader public. Buzz functioned as an extension that could be added to other platforms, such as Picasa. However, privacy concerns arose early on, and the service failed to gain widespread adoption.

Let's start with an overview of some key features of Google Plus.

Profiles and Circles

A Google Plus account is tied to a Google profile, a feature Google has provided for several years. Google profiles were initially designed to personalize search results, particularly when searching for your own name. With a profile, you can manage what information the public sees. You can fill out a personal bio, share details such as your address, phone number, and email, and include links to personal or professional websites. You have control over who sees each piece of information, allowing you to decide whether to share it with specific groups or keep it private. For those who are privacy-conscious, it's also possible to create a Google profile with just your name and nothing else.

Returning to your profile, it serves as your "about" page on Google Plus. People can click the "about" tab to learn more about you, but only the information you’ve chosen to share will be visible. Google Plus provides multiple levels of privacy settings, allowing you to customize who sees what. For example, you can share your address with only those in your friends circle. You can even specify which individuals, rather than an entire circle, can access certain details. Alternatively, you can create a private circle for a small group you trust with that information.

The primary activity on Google Plus occurs in the stream. The stream functions similarly to the wall on Facebook, where you'll view updates from people you follow in your circles. You can share your own status updates with specific circles or even individual users. Want to keep your plans private from your boss but still let your friends know? Just post to your friends circle. If you make your status public, anyone who has added you to their circles will see it, and it may also appear in search results. Tagging someone in a post is simple – use @ or + followed by their name, and Google Plus will help you pick the right person.

Google Plus allows you to format your status updates with these tools:

Let's explore the additional features available in Google Plus.

Photos and Sparks

Google has been expanding its cloud computing and storage infrastructure over the years. Cloud services let you access files and applications via the internet. These files and programs are hosted on a remote server, and you connect to them through your own device. One of the key benefits of cloud computing is that it doesn’t require a high-powered computer or a massive hard drive to take full advantage of the service.

Picasa is one of Google's cloud storage initiatives. Picasa includes two main components: a photo viewer and editing software that you install on your device, and an online photo storage service. The second component is what links to Google Plus. Picasa accounts are free, and they integrate with your Google account. You’re given 1GB of free storage, with the option to purchase more. However, photos uploaded through Google Plus don’t count toward your storage limit. Google allows any photo with the longest edge measuring 2,048 pixels or fewer without counting it. When you upload images through the service, Google Plus automatically resizes them to meet this requirement.

This means you can upload unlimited photos to Google Plus without hitting storage limits. Google Plus also allows you to organize your photos into albums, each with a limit of 1,000 images. You can create as many albums as you need. Additionally, photos can be tagged to identify people in them. If you take a photo with a GPS-enabled device like a smartphone, location information will be added to the photo album. You can disable this feature through the Google Plus settings.

Another feature of Google Plus, called sparks, brings in content tailored to your interests. When setting up your Google Plus account, you can specify the topics you want to follow. The sparks feature will display news stories on your profile that match the subjects you’ve chosen. It functions similarly to an RSS reader, like Google Reader, but with a more user-friendly interface. Some early reviews of Google Plus dismissed sparks as unnecessary, although a few journalists suggested that with further development, it could become a valuable tool.

Why would Google add a news feature to a social network? One reason could be that more and more of us are turning to platforms like Facebook for news. According to the Pew Research Center, social media is where we go to discover, share, filter, and discuss news stories. The 'Sparks' feature on Google Plus lets you quickly scan news articles that match your interests. If you find an article you like, you can share it in your stream and start a conversation around it.

Up next, we'll explore some fun and unique ways that Google Plus allows you to connect with others.

Chats, Hangouts and Huddles

Google Plus offers multiple ways to connect with other users. You can send a private message by creating a status update and sharing it only with a specific friend's stream. But if you're looking for more immediate and interactive communication, there are even more engaging options to explore.

Similar to Gmail, Google Plus integrates the Google Talk network, allowing users to send and receive instant messages directly through Google Talk. A record of your chat history is stored within your Gmail account. Additionally, Google Talk is accessible via its standalone client or through third-party applications like Pidgin and Digsby.

Another way to connect with up to nine other Google Plus users is through a hangout. A hangout is essentially a video chat. To join, you’ll need a webcam and a microphone, and headphones are recommended to reduce echo. Hangouts can be public, restricted to certain circles, or limited to specific users. Regardless, the participant count is capped at 10, including yourself.

Once a hangout starts, you’ll see live video feeds for each participant. The person speaking will be prominently featured with a larger video window. When someone else speaks, the view automatically shifts to that individual. If multiple people talk simultaneously, Google Plus will highlight the loudest voice.

How does Google Plus manage this? Each participant in a hangout has their own video and audio feed. Google Plus monitors the audio signals and switches the view to the person currently speaking. If there are several people talking at once, it measures the sound wave amplitude to determine which feed to focus on – we perceive louder sounds as higher amplitude.

While in a hangout, you can chat or even host a YouTube viewing party. Participants can choose YouTube videos to display on the screen, turning the hangout into something akin to a casual "Mystery Science Theater 3000" or "RiffTrax" session, where users add humorous commentary to the videos.

Another method of connecting with fellow Google Plus users via mobile devices is through a huddle. A huddle allows you to send text messages to a chosen group. Each participant must have the Google Plus mobile app installed on their phone. You then add individuals to the huddle, and when you send a message, it is delivered to everyone in the group. Recipients can reply, and their responses are shared with the entire group. Though not everyone chats simultaneously, it keeps everyone informed and engaged in the conversation.

It’s easier to grasp with an example: let’s say you want to go to a movie with some friends. You create a huddle and invite your friends to join. You propose the movie, and each person can then reply to the entire group, sparking a conversation. This helps finalize the details, like the time and location, for your movie outing.

Next, we’ll explore how Google Plus ensures privacy for its users.

Privacy on Google Plus

The question of privacy online is a complex one. On one hand, there are organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation working to safeguard users’ privacy. On the other, there are figures like Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, who argues that privacy is no longer a widely accepted social norm [source: Johnson]. As users, we find ourselves stuck in between these opposing views. How much of our personal data should we be willing to share with Google?

Google's core mission is to organize the world's information. Given that goal, you might wonder whether all your personal information will become publicly accessible. However, Google Plus allows you to choose exactly how much information you wish to share. The one condition is that you must use your real name to set up a Google profile, which must be public. Beyond that, you have full control over what you disclose.

You have the option to share a status update with everyone, your circles and extended circles, or just select Google Plus users. While you're required to list your gender, you can opt to keep it private if you prefer. You can also provide additional details such as your address, email, phone number, employer, schools, and a bio. Each of these fields can be individually controlled in terms of privacy, ensuring that only those you choose can view them.

Google Plus also includes a feature that lets you share someone else’s status update. By using the share option, the post will appear in your feed with the attribution going to your friend. You can disable the share feature for any post you make. If you’re feeling the need to vent about something personal, like a job frustration or an opinion about someone, you may want to turn off sharing. Otherwise, someone you've permitted to see the post could share it on their own stream, and your private thoughts will no longer be private.

If you face harassment on Google Plus, you have the option to block the person by adding them to a blocked circle. Once added, you won't see their posts, and they won't be able to comment on your posts. However, they'll still be able to view any public posts you make. If you don't want to block someone completely but need to remove a particular post from your feed, you can use the mute feature to remove that post and reduce clutter.

If you're using Google Chrome to access Google Plus, you'll unlock some extra features. Next, let's explore several Google Chrome extensions that can enhance your Google Plus experience.

Chrome Extensions and Google Plus

If you're browsing with Google Chrome, you may not have to wait for Google to add new features to Google Plus. This is because Google allows developers to create Google Chrome extensions. These add-ons bring new functionality to your browser. Some extensions can notify you of incoming e-mail, while others provide quick access to weather updates or stock market prices. Regardless of what site you're browsing, the extension keeps helpful information just a click away.

Anyone can develop extensions using JavaScript and the developer version of Google Chrome. Google provides a tutorial on how to build and debug extensions that may not work as expected. You can either host your extensions for others to download or submit them to the Google Chrome Web Store for a broader audience.

Installing extensions is a simple process. You select an extension and permit it to modify Google Chrome. The best part is that no browser restart is required for the changes to take effect. Uninstalling extensions is just as easy if you decide they don't meet your needs. While these extensions are great for customizing Google Plus, many offer features that go beyond just the social network.

Some Google Chrome extensions may eventually become obsolete as Google incorporates more features directly into Google Plus. If you come up with an idea for a new feature that Google Plus is missing, you can send your feedback directly to the development team. A feedback link is conveniently built into Google Plus for this purpose.

Let’s dive deeper into the inner workings of Google Plus.

Under the Hood of Google Plus

Google Plus consists of two primary components: the front end and the back end. The front end is the user-facing interface you interact with when logged in, allowing you to perform actions. The back end, however, is hidden from view and resides in Google's vast data centers.

The Google Plus team built the system's back end on top of Google's Bigtable and Colossus. Bigtable is a distributed storage system that Google relies heavily on, also serving as the backbone for its search engine. Colossus, an advanced successor to the Google File System, was developed to handle real-time search capabilities that the older system couldn't manage effectively.

Google Plus primarily uses two languages: Java and JavaScript. Despite their similar names, these two languages are not directly related. JavaScript's syntax is inspired by Java, but they are distinct and separate technologies.

Java

Java is a programming language developed by Sun Microsystems with the intention of building programs for practical use, rather than serving as a research tool for computer scientists or academia. It's a class-based, object-oriented language. But what does that mean? An object combines information, processes, and identity. A class is a category that organizes similar objects based on their structure and behavior. In such a language, you define class categories and place objects in them. C and C++ are other examples of class-based languages.

Web developers appreciate Java because it allows for the creation of applets. An applet is a small program that runs within a Web page. It can be embedded within HTML code, enhancing a website with additional features. Google Plus uses Java with an injection framework known as Guice, designed to remove the need for building factories. In Java, a factory is used to safeguard the architecture of a program, enabling other developers to add their code and extend its functionality. This portion of Google Plus operates on Google's servers.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a client-side scripting language, not a full programming language. Unlike Java, JavaScript was created by Netscape, not Sun Microsystems. Much like a Java applet, JavaScript code runs within a Web browser. By inserting JavaScript into a Web page's HTML, you can enhance a site with interactive features.

Within Google Plus, JavaScript elements run on the client's browser. Clients are the devices accessing Google Plus, while servers are the systems delivering content. Google also utilizes a tool called Closure, which helps streamline JavaScript and makes it easier for developers to quickly address issues within the Google Plus interface.

Although Java and JavaScript are not connected, web developers utilize both to explore the full potential of what can be accomplished within a web page.

Among all the features of Google Plus, Hangouts stands out as possibly the most intricate. It operates using a combination of the extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), Jingle (an extension of XMPP), real-time transport protocol (RTP), session traversal utilities for NAT (STUN), and secure real-time transport protocol. This essentially means the technology behind Hangouts is quite sophisticated. Unlike services like Skype, which use a peer-to-peer network, Hangouts rely on Google's servers for all the heavy lifting. The exact amount of processing power required to keep these video hangouts running seamlessly is known only by Google's engineers.

Could Google Plus become the next Facebook? While the private beta generated a sense of exclusivity and a high demand for access, only time will reveal whether Google Plus will maintain its popularity.