Welcome to the first Tuesday Tech Trends with Tara post!\u00a0 Every Tuesday I’ll talk about new and exciting emerging technologies including everything from social media (like this post) and mobile apps to hardware and software.\u00a0 If you have questions about anything mentioned in this blog or have suggestions for future blog posts please leave them in the comments section.<\/p>\n
Google+<\/strong><\/span> Alright, let’s start with Question 1:\u00a0 What is Google+?<\/strong><\/p>\n A. <\/strong>Google+ is Google’s latest attempt at a social network.\u00a0 (You may vaguely recall something\u00a0by the name of\u00a0Google Buzz – it was never very popular, but you can still see it in the left hand column of your\u00a0Gmail account.)\u00a0 While its main function is that of a social network (i.e., connecting and sharing with others), it incorporates other Google features that you\u00a0 may already be using,\u00a0such as\u00a0Google Talk and Picassa.\u00a0 Google+ is in its very early beta stages, so expect more and more Google services and features to become embedded within it in\u00a0soon.\u00a0 I’m picturing easy communication despite language barriers with Google Translate and Google Docs could make resource sharing with\u00a0friends easier than ever.<\/p>\n Alright, Question 2: How is it different from Facebook?<\/strong><\/p>\n A.\u00a0<\/strong>The main difference between Facebook and Google+ deals with friends.\u00a0 In Facebook, all your friends are clumped together.\u00a0 You can create friend lists, but everyone you have ever friended can see all your information and posts and picture\u00a0tags unless you go through one-by-one and block specific people.\u00a0 Google+ approached the idea of friends differently.\u00a0 Instead of clumping all your friends together, Google+ lets you create circles,<\/strong> such as Work, Friends, Family, People Who Love\u00a0Dr. Who\u00a0As Much As I do….\u00a0 Then, when you add a friend to your Google+ account, you choose what circle to put them in.\u00a0 You can also put a single friend into as many circles as you want.\u00a0 For example, your\u00a0dad might belong in both the Family circle and the\u00a0Dr. Who\u00a0circle.<\/p>\n These circles come in handy when you want to start posting items, statuses, pictures, etc to your profile.\u00a0 Every time you post something you choose which circles will be able to see it.\u00a0 That means\u00a0you can finally post pictures of last Friday night, choose to share\u00a0them with just\u00a0your\u00a0Friends circle and not worry\u00a0about\u00a0mom and dad\u00a0seeing them.\u00a0 whew!<\/em>\u00a0 Circles let you share what you want with who you want.<\/p>\n Another feature of Google+ not in Facebook, is called sparks<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sparks are certain areas, hobbies, or interests that you particularly like.\u00a0 From within Google+ you can search for your sparks.\u00a0 You can then easily share items from you sparks feed with your various Google+ circles.\u00a0 It sounds confusing, but it’s not.\u00a0 I promise.\u00a0 One of the items in my sparks list\u00a0is Vegan Recipes.\u00a0 Once I click on Vegan Recipes I get many delicious looking results.\u00a0\u00a0And since this is all happening right within Google+, I can easily hit the share button next to each result to share a particularly tasty looking dish with my Veggie Loving Friends circle.\u00a0 See?\u00a0 Easy.\u00a0 And once again, thanks to the circles, only people who actually care about vegan recipes will see that information.\u00a0 No more clouding up your friends news stream with stuff that will make them roll their eyes.\u00a0 (I’m sure my Facebook friends wonder how many tofu recipes a person really needs… :$)<\/p>\n Moving on.\u00a0 Google+ also has hangouts<\/strong>.\u00a0 Hangouts aren’t quite the same as the gas station parking lot was in high school, but the principle is the same.\u00a0 Hangouts are spaces where your friends come and go freely and generally just hang\/chat\/shoot the breeze\u00a0– only in Google+ the spaces are virtual and you get to pick exactly which friends are allowed to come cruising in.\u00a0 You can video chat with\u00a0cousin Mark\u00a0while you’re both\u00a0surfing the web on your lunch break.\u00a0 And\u00a0then maybe your Aunt Penny signs in and the next thing you know you’re getting all caught up on the family\u00a0gossip.\u00a0 You can direct chat to a single person in Google+ as well, but hangouts let the conversation flow between all your friends.<\/p>\n And the last major feature setting Google+ apart from Facebook?\u00a0 Huddle<\/strong>.\u00a0 Huddle is\u00a0actually a mobile app that\u00a0allows you to group text message with your circles while you’re on the go.\u00a0 Things change last minute all the time.\u00a0 Now everyone in your friend circle can all participate in the same text message.\u00a0 No more, “So, we’re going to the 7.30 show now?\u00a0 Okay, you\u00a0text Sarah, Kim, and John\u00a0(individually) and I’ll text\u00a0Tyson, Blaine, and Tiff.”\u00a0<\/em> ugh.\u00a0 Huddle means one text message will get the word out to everyone.<\/p>\n Finally.\u00a0 We have arrived\u00a0at Question 3:<\/strong> You have\u00a0convinced me!\u00a0 I’ve seen the light!\u00a0 How do I join?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n A. <\/strong>Google+ membership is still by invite only but members have\u00a0a fairly large number of\u00a0invites to give to friends.\u00a0 If you know\u00a0someone already on Google+ ask them to send an invite your way.\u00a0 Otherwise, feel free to drop by the research help desk in the Information Commons (2nd floor) or the Lewis Library and ask for a Google+ invite form.\u00a0 I have 150 invites that I’d love to give away to the Loyola community!<\/p>\n And just to keep the good times rolling, here’s a fun and helpful video:<\/p>\n
\nBy now, you have probably\u00a0heard\u00a0of Google’s new social network called Google+.\u00a0 But you’re also probably wondering what exactly is<\/em> it?\u00a0 How is it different from Facebook?\u00a0 How do I join?\u00a0 (And does the world really need another social network???)<\/em><\/p>\n