by samNaturally, any company just embarking into world of social networking will always have a Facebook-shaped shadow looming over them, even those with the financial backing of Google. Whatever else anyone says about it however, Google + integrates social and search in a way that has not been seen before. Google + posts have now begun to crop on the search engine’s results pages and a click of the +1 button allows you to share your endorsement of interesting websites with your friends. In Snapseed and Community pages, Google now has two new features that just might make other competitors sit up and take note.
Community pages perform a similar function to Facebook groups in that it allows like-minded people to converge and share their opinions on any given topic that takes their interest. Arguably, it is even easier to use than groups as there is no need to actually navigate your way to the page but simply add the content on your Google + homepage and then drag to the community circle. Unlike being a fan of a brand page like Coca Cola or Cadburys on Facebook for example, there is no one source that determines the content of community pages. This is a clever move from Google as it gives users a strong sense of equality and taps into the fact that everyone likes to be an authority and an expert on their favourite subjects. The major advantage of this feature is filtering. It is now possible to select what topic of discussions you want to view or get involved in rather than having to trawl through irrelevant posts before getting to the desired content
In September 2012 Google bought the rights to Nik Software, the creators of Snapseed. If communities is Google +’s answer to Facebook groups then Snapseed may well be seen as its response to Instagram. However, this app is definitely targeted more towards the serious connoisseur of photography rather than the amateur editors. There are features to make your photo more dramatic, moody, vibrant and even give it a retro 50’s, 60’s or 70’s vibe. You can even isolate specific areas of your photo to make adjustments of saturation, brightness and contrast. In terms of the sheer quality of effects it is hard to argue against the superiority of Snapseed. The large + button at the bottom of the screen that allows you to share photos with friendship circles demonstrates Google’s attempt to integrate it with their social network. Fortunately for those who have larger social networks on other sites it is also possible to share with Facebook and Pinterest friends among others.
While buying Snapseed and introducing Community pages certainly makes clear Google’s commitment to the cause, it remains to be seen whether this will drive up the number of users to compete with the real big hitters of social networking.