Here Are All The Most Important New Updates To Google+ (GOOG)

Matt Waddell, Chief of Staff at Google, shared a great list of all the updates and changes that have been rolled out to Google+ in the past week.

From his post:

• You can now re-order your circles by dragging them left or right on the Circles page, and they'll stay that way across Google+. (For bonus points, try dragging one of your circles into the top half of the Circles page.) [original post: http://goo.gl/Jy4Vv]

• Webmasters can now see and test updates of the +1 button before they're launched to all users on their site [original post: http://goo.gl/70a31]

• The +1 button now renders up to 3x faster, and webmasters can make things even speedier by using the new async JavaScript snippet [original post: http://goo.gl/GhWGe]

• You can now choose who can start a huddle with you: Anyone, your Extended Circles, or just your Circles. To make your selection just visit Google+ settings on the desktop, or G+ settings on Android. [see attached screenshot]You should now see a better list of places when searching for a place to check into on G+ mobile. [original post: http://goo.gl/opvWa]

• You can now edit the names of your photo albums directly inside of Google+. Just go the Photos page, click "Your albums", choose an album, and click on the album title. [original post: http://goo.gl/gaVv8]

• You can now create new circles in-line from the "Add to Circle" menu all across G+ (including profiles, hovercards, and people suggestions).

• And… we've created a "What's new in Google+" page that'll help keep track of these features & fixes in the future [what's new page: http://goo.gl/0fcNs]

The Google+ team is obviously not sitting on its hands.

Don't Miss: 15 Basic Features Google+ Must Add Before It Can Destroy Facebook

Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• 15 Basic Features Google+ Must Add Before It Can Destroy Facebook
• Now You Can Watch Live YouTube Streams In Google+ Hangouts
• We'd Like To See Someone Use Flash To Make A Music Video This Awesome

Here Are All The Most Important New Updates To Google+ (GOOG)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/wVDp6a1o-JM/google-plus-updates-2011-8

Why It's So Important For Facebook To Work On Every Phone

Today's announcement of a version of Facebook for low-end feature phones is part of the company's stated plans to reach literally every person in the world in five years.

As Facebook platform manager Carl Sjogreen explained last week, "our focus is making every mobile device, from the lowest-end feature phone to highest-end smartphone, capable of interacting with Facebook in meaningful ways."

The new app, Facebook for Every Phone, brings Facebook to more than 2,500 phones, including lots of phones used in huge countries like Brazil, India, and Indonesia, where full-fledged smartphones are too expensive for most consumers.

On a basic level this is obvious -- like any company, Facebook wants its product to be used as widely as possible.

But Sjogreen also gave an interesting explanation of why being cross-platform is particularly important for social apps.

Take for example the Words With Friends mobile game (which was acquired by Zynga earlier this year). It's only fun if you can play it with other people. Even if I have it on my Android phone, if my best friend can't use it on his phone, then neither of us will play.

It's almost like a reverse-network effect -- without broad cross-platform support, you can lose customers on platforms that you DO support.

Sjogreen was explaining all of this as a reason why Facebook is bullish on HTML5 for its long-term developer strategy. By building a platform that lets social developers write their apps once to run on multiple mobile platforms, Facebook is doing them a big favor. Otherwise, they'd have to write native apps for each platform -- a big and expensive time sink.

(Facebook still won't talk about the other big rumored reason why it's moving to HTML5 -- to create an alternative to the Apple App Store and other single-platform stores, compete with a Facebook-run payments system. But it's probably true, and it's a great move in itself.)

Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: It Isn't Just Facebook, Google Is At War With Everyone
• A Photo Of The Future: Facebook Search
• This Recent College Grad Created Facebook's Video Calling Feature With His Bare Hands

Why It's So Important For Facebook To Work On Every Phone

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/xbURNMcmRe4/why-its-so-important-for-facebook-to-be-everywhere-2011-7

Google Lat Long Blog: My Places now helps you manage your important locations

Almost every day you encounter new places and businesses, whether it’s a new store you spotted on your commute to work, or a restaurant you visited with friends over the weekend. To date, you’ve been able to star places on Google Maps, rate them via Google Places, or add them to a customized map with your own icons and annotations through My Maps.

lue lisää

Google Lat Long Blog: My Places now helps you manage your important locations

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/SbSV/~3/BqBp2dc0GW8/my-places-now-helps-you-manage-your.html

The Most Important Chart About Business Insider (That's Not About Business Insider)

We just discovered a pretty neat tool by Google called Google Correlate. It lets you find out which search queries have activity correlating the most with other search words. 

It's a fun tool, but it's also useful if only for one thing: to remind us that correlation is not causation. 

Everyone says they understand that, and yet they behave as if they don't. We just read a McKinsey report that used correlation to imply causation. 

So, as definitive proof, let me offer you the correlation between the query "Business Insider" and the queery "sheetzbox."

What's "sheetzbox"? As we found out, it's a place to download piano sheet music. Nothing to do with Business Insider. And yet it's the search term that's the most correlated to Business Insider.

And why are they so correlated? Because things like that happen and correlations can mean anything, including nothing. 

Here's the chart. We wish everyone who writes and opines about stats for a living would pin it above their desks. 

Don't Miss: You Must See These Amazing Charts To Understand The Internet →

For the latest news, visit Business Insider. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

The Most Important Chart About Business Insider (That's Not About Business Insider)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/bWL9AjA7iyo/statistics-101-2011-5

Leaked Emails From Google Show How Important Location Data Is To Android (GOOG)

The San Jose Mercury News landed some leaked emails from Google CEO Larry Page, as well as other top Google executives, which show how important gathering location data is for its mobile plans.

Last year, Motorola, one of Google's biggest mobile partners, was planning on using Skyhook Wireless's location data for its handsets over Google's location data.

The Mercury News says that when Page read about Motorola's decision to use a "competitor's" location service -- we're guessing it was Skyhook -- he pasted the article in an email to top executives at Google and asked, "Can I get a response on this?"

The Mercury News says "a detailed memo" was quickly sent back to Page, with Android boss Andy Rubin writing, location data from mobile phones was "extremely valuable to Google," because it was having trouble getting the data via its Street View cars.

Google's Street View cars were busted for gathering data from unsecured wifi networks. That blow up made it more challenging for Google to build a location database driving around and collecting data from wifi networks.

To build its location network, it would have to rely more heavily on Android phones. But if its partners weren't going to use Google's location technology, that would be much more difficult.

Google location product manager Steve Lee wrote to Larry Page, "I cannot stress enough how important Google's wifi location database is to our Android and mobile product strategy ... We absolutely do care about this (decision by Motorola) because we need wifi data collection in order to maintain and improve our wifi location service."

Skyhook is currently suing Google saying it unfairly blocked Motorola from using Skyhook's services.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About How Phones Are Stalking You Everywhere

For the latest tech news, visit SAI: Silicon Alley Insider. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Everything You Need To Know About How Phones Are Stalking You Everywhere
• Android's U.S. Market Share Dips A Little, But It's Still Cleaning Up
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: Apple Could Survive On Its Current Cash Until 2018 Without Generating Any Revenue

Leaked Emails From Google Show How Important Location Data Is To Android (GOOG)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/kPDWSilBTxY/leaked-emails-from-google-show-how-important-location-data-is-to-android-2011-5