G+ is pretty good, but there are some real problems that need to be addressed.
1 - Stream Issues
There are several problems with streams, some I have encountered, some I have gleaned from other posts. The biggest is the algorithm that places activity above time. Say I have a couple in my circles and they share the site for posts; one posts lengthy, but interesting observations about his life, the other posts cute animal photos. The cute photos generate lots of activity, but the texts from the other don't. I want to see the text posts, but they are buried below by a bunch of photos I have less interest in, even though the texts post in the evening and the photos in the morning. Don't make the posts go out of time sequence. Give us at least an option to reorder the posts in chronological order. After all, the posts are directed at us, the people, not a computer algorithm. Besides, who asked for activity on a post to determine where it is placed? Lots of stupid posts have greater activity than worthwhile posts.
Another issue is the size of those posts. If you have an active stream, be it in your home or a community, you have to page down and down and down to see earlier posts because they are so huge and take up a lot of space. These need to be reduced in size and given an option to enlarge so that more posts can fit on a page. This would be especially helpful to mobile users because it seems some folk are just giving up swimming downstream because of this size problem.
We need a bookmark, like one you leave in a book you are reading. Not because it is a reference point, but because that is where you left off reading. If you have to stop reading, especially on an active stream, it would be great to be able to jump back in where you left off, so you can catch up. This would also mean that you have to be able to override or opt out of the algorithm and put your posts in chronological order, but I already want that.
Gmail has better functions to order and access and compress your info on the screen. That is where Google started. Get some of those Gmail people working with the G+ers and make this easier to work with.
2 - Communities
The first fix for Communities needs to be the ability to organize them. Right now, they appear, in threes, in the order of the most recently visited in the top left, the second most recent to the right of that, so that if you belonged to nine communities it might look something like this:
1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
We need to be able to organize them alphabetically and chronologically as well as previously visited. Alphabetically is fairly straight forward (if "The" is the first word it would be under "T"), but chronologically should be a way to arrange them by most recent or oldest activity.
Speaking of activity, we also need to expand on the notifications on the Communities page. Currently, we get a small red box with a number on the corner of a community that has new posts, comments or +1s. I belong to some communities that post a lot of photos and much of the activity consists of comments but mostly +1s for these photos. Some of these have the most recent post being two weeks ago, but lots of "other" activity. We need to have these broken down into three numbers on each community (or at least two), a red box for new posts only, a blue box for comments only and a green box for +1s only (or a blue box for comments and +1s combined). It is very disappointing to open a community only to discover that all of the action is comments and +1s (which are worse because those are undated). I would prefer to first view when new posts are up and skip the comments and (especially) the +1s until I am caught up with the posts.
Another Community addition involves the moderators. Currently, moderators can dump someone from a community without notification. I found myself kicked out of one and still can't figure out what I did wrong (not going to try to find out either, not worth it). Moderators should certainly be able to expel when they feel it is appropriate, but there needs to be a formal "form" notification that says why it happened. This would help keep moderators from being arbitrary in enforcement, but also give the banned a chance to explain and plead their case or at least understand what they were caught doing.
3 - Find People
A simple solution. Put the toolbar in this order: Your Circles, Added You, Find People and rename the whole section People. Maybe the empty or small amount in their circles will encourage greater involvement by newbies or the shy, but certainly would allow the more active to easily access the parts they are more likely to need. After all, there is a daily limit on how many one can add in a day and a total in circles limit as well. How useful is it to have a section that can't be used for the day or at all appearing first?
4 - Profile
Add blank areas for the person to fill in as they choose. After the Tagline, Introduction and Bragging rights, every category is multiple choice or fill in the specific space. Not much for someone to be creative with or allow further details that don't fit into the stated lines. Also, allow these "blanks" to have adjustable visibility just as the others do, including customization. Remember, sometimes "square" peg things that people enjoy doing or how they earn a living can't be squeezed into the usual "round" hole definitions (no allusions to FB vs. G+ intended).
This sums up for the areas where I see a need for improvement that could benefit users, giving them more control and freedom, reigning in possible excesses and making for a more streamlined experience when visiting.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Another G+ Blog Post: What's Good And What's Bad
G+ has a number of sections to look at for various kinds of info. I'm going to give a rundown of what I think of each of these categories. Home and Profile are always first and second on the sidebar. The others can be arranged to how you like, so they are in alphabetical order. (I use a laptop, so if some of these behave differently within apps, I wouldn't know)
Home: your first destination when you open G+. This is all of your streams. If you manage your circles carefully, as well as your Communities, you should always be able to see just the streams that you want. One recent oddity: I have been seeing select posts from some Communities showing up in spite of the fact that all of them are turned off.
Profile: this is where you organize all of your personal info: posts, about, photos, videos (or YouTube) and +1's. The posts is probably the most useful of these as it reflects your opinions and interests more than what you say in your about section. Photos are the next most useful because it shows just what you want others to see about you. I recently uncircled someone because the initial reason for circling back was not re-enforced by the choice of photos to display; they contradicted it entirely. About is good as a back-up or to help tip the balance to circle or not to circle. But don't feel that you have to fill it all out even if other, more well-known names say you must. Mine is nice and vague (even vaguer since "Find People" - later on that). If you don't want to circle because of that, I don't care. Videos can be interesting, but few have them as a lot of people may not know how to, or that they can or even want to bother. +1's are the absolute least important of all because if you didn't realize, it only shows them if they are outside of G+, not within and there are still many sites that don't even acknowledge G+. There is an extension that can be added that will allow you to add a private +1 to any site so that they will show up on your page. I, however, could not care what you +1 as I think it is prone to overuse and abuse and is a very lazy way to comment or recommend.
Communities: my favorite area. An easy to use way to find discussions on topics that interest you. I currently belong to over 30 of these, although on most, I am a silent observer. The only real downside that I see are the recommendations. I have had some really strange ones appear and have no idea as to why they were suggested to me. My interests have nothing to do with these, so some algorithm must do the job of saying "if these, then those". That said, a simple click on the x makes those go away and some of them will linger for a while if you don't do choose to join or delete, giving you time to consider. Avoid empty communities because if even the moderator has nothing to say, no one will.
Events: a way to invite people to parties and record and store photos of it. Of no interest to me right now. I maintain a neutral position on whether it is useful or not.
Explore: often, the most tedious of all functions. Both neither hot nor recommended, it is the well traveled ground of press releases, reposted "humorous" cartoons, captioned photos and gifs and celebrity nonsense. Sometimes real news or info can filter in, but due to the limited scrolling (it just stops after three or four "loads"), it is unlikely. I say avoid unless you are bored or tolerant of potential boredom. It is much better than before Communities where much of the dreck has drifted away to their own private (yet public) dreariness.
Find People: this consists of 3 sections - Find People, Added You and Your Circles. Your Circles is by far the most important of these as how circles are organized affects what you see in your streams. You can rename, change the order and even eliminate your circles themselves in addition to sorting out who goes where. The first 4 circles appear in the Home control bar, the rest in the more section. Added You is three lists: Recently Added You, Not Yet In Your Circles and In Your Circles Too. These are your lists of those whose circles YOU are in. Not very important if you are getting other notifications (like the red box or email). Find People is perhaps the worst of all functions. A looong list of people whom you've already met by commenting on their posts or vice versa; then ALL of the people that your circles have circled; and finally complete strangers. This info already is on your Home page in a column to the right of your stream, just in smaller type. You can "dismiss" these "Found People" by clicking on the x, but the image only becomes transparent and shrinks a little. It does not drop off the page like your circled people (or the actual circles) nor does it vanish like a dismissed community. And it is the first section, not the last. My advice is to get your circles in order, then manage them well as you add people (you can create a new circle when you click on "add' on their profile page or their "hovercard" or just put a check next to the circle/s you already prepared). Then never return to this option again unless you are desperate to have someone, anyone in your circles. Most likely, these people will NOT circle you back.
Games: I don't play video games. I would not know good games from bad. Another neutral function.
Hangouts: a way to have video conference calls. Sort of like the 50s and 60s sci-fi imagined all phone calls would be like. The one real downside is that all hangouts are recorded and can only be dealt with after they are over. Plus, I am not aware as to whether each participant gets a copy or if only the moderator. A concern if you are talking about a topic you would rather not go public (just like your posts). Not seeing ANY Hangouts in my future, but sounds like a live way to discuss stuff in free form.
Local: basically the Yellow Pages with reviews and maps. Since Google bought Zagat a time ago, this is their way of adding value to that acquisition by taking it online. You can add your own reviews and/or business to it but it is something I will never need and it is easy to ignore. Results of reviews can show up in Google Search so decide carefully if you want to contribute or choose to see your circles reviews (check out Search setting on how to block this info from entering your searches).
Pages: mostly businesses and organizations with a few groups with themes (like nothing but cats). Most businesses do a poor job of presenting posts (just look on Explore for examples). Press releases with no engagement added or other reasons to visit. Some of the groups began before communities, so they are more like one sided conversations (posts that you can respond to but can't start yourself). I follow some pages, but do so with the same care you take when adding a person to your circles.
Photos: a sort of redundancy of the section from your Profile page but also includes private albums. You can instant upload from there as well. When you add photos, it also creates the duplicate album in Picassa with similar functions such as editing. I already posted about Picassa's Secret Auto-Opt-In, so I won't repeat myself. Suffice to say, use the same caution as posting or commenting. It could come back and bite you in the ass.
Overall, I would say that G+ improving, but is tending to veer toward catering to the FB users. It needs to chart its own course and let them find a way to join in own their own terms. They are invited to the party, but they have to eat what is here, drink what is here and listen to the music already playing.
BTW: +Google , get "Find People" into third place after Circles and Added.
Home: your first destination when you open G+. This is all of your streams. If you manage your circles carefully, as well as your Communities, you should always be able to see just the streams that you want. One recent oddity: I have been seeing select posts from some Communities showing up in spite of the fact that all of them are turned off.
Profile: this is where you organize all of your personal info: posts, about, photos, videos (or YouTube) and +1's. The posts is probably the most useful of these as it reflects your opinions and interests more than what you say in your about section. Photos are the next most useful because it shows just what you want others to see about you. I recently uncircled someone because the initial reason for circling back was not re-enforced by the choice of photos to display; they contradicted it entirely. About is good as a back-up or to help tip the balance to circle or not to circle. But don't feel that you have to fill it all out even if other, more well-known names say you must. Mine is nice and vague (even vaguer since "Find People" - later on that). If you don't want to circle because of that, I don't care. Videos can be interesting, but few have them as a lot of people may not know how to, or that they can or even want to bother. +1's are the absolute least important of all because if you didn't realize, it only shows them if they are outside of G+, not within and there are still many sites that don't even acknowledge G+. There is an extension that can be added that will allow you to add a private +1 to any site so that they will show up on your page. I, however, could not care what you +1 as I think it is prone to overuse and abuse and is a very lazy way to comment or recommend.
Communities: my favorite area. An easy to use way to find discussions on topics that interest you. I currently belong to over 30 of these, although on most, I am a silent observer. The only real downside that I see are the recommendations. I have had some really strange ones appear and have no idea as to why they were suggested to me. My interests have nothing to do with these, so some algorithm must do the job of saying "if these, then those". That said, a simple click on the x makes those go away and some of them will linger for a while if you don't do choose to join or delete, giving you time to consider. Avoid empty communities because if even the moderator has nothing to say, no one will.
Events: a way to invite people to parties and record and store photos of it. Of no interest to me right now. I maintain a neutral position on whether it is useful or not.
Explore: often, the most tedious of all functions. Both neither hot nor recommended, it is the well traveled ground of press releases, reposted "humorous" cartoons, captioned photos and gifs and celebrity nonsense. Sometimes real news or info can filter in, but due to the limited scrolling (it just stops after three or four "loads"), it is unlikely. I say avoid unless you are bored or tolerant of potential boredom. It is much better than before Communities where much of the dreck has drifted away to their own private (yet public) dreariness.
Find People: this consists of 3 sections - Find People, Added You and Your Circles. Your Circles is by far the most important of these as how circles are organized affects what you see in your streams. You can rename, change the order and even eliminate your circles themselves in addition to sorting out who goes where. The first 4 circles appear in the Home control bar, the rest in the more section. Added You is three lists: Recently Added You, Not Yet In Your Circles and In Your Circles Too. These are your lists of those whose circles YOU are in. Not very important if you are getting other notifications (like the red box or email). Find People is perhaps the worst of all functions. A looong list of people whom you've already met by commenting on their posts or vice versa; then ALL of the people that your circles have circled; and finally complete strangers. This info already is on your Home page in a column to the right of your stream, just in smaller type. You can "dismiss" these "Found People" by clicking on the x, but the image only becomes transparent and shrinks a little. It does not drop off the page like your circled people (or the actual circles) nor does it vanish like a dismissed community. And it is the first section, not the last. My advice is to get your circles in order, then manage them well as you add people (you can create a new circle when you click on "add' on their profile page or their "hovercard" or just put a check next to the circle/s you already prepared). Then never return to this option again unless you are desperate to have someone, anyone in your circles. Most likely, these people will NOT circle you back.
Games: I don't play video games. I would not know good games from bad. Another neutral function.
Hangouts: a way to have video conference calls. Sort of like the 50s and 60s sci-fi imagined all phone calls would be like. The one real downside is that all hangouts are recorded and can only be dealt with after they are over. Plus, I am not aware as to whether each participant gets a copy or if only the moderator. A concern if you are talking about a topic you would rather not go public (just like your posts). Not seeing ANY Hangouts in my future, but sounds like a live way to discuss stuff in free form.
Local: basically the Yellow Pages with reviews and maps. Since Google bought Zagat a time ago, this is their way of adding value to that acquisition by taking it online. You can add your own reviews and/or business to it but it is something I will never need and it is easy to ignore. Results of reviews can show up in Google Search so decide carefully if you want to contribute or choose to see your circles reviews (check out Search setting on how to block this info from entering your searches).
Pages: mostly businesses and organizations with a few groups with themes (like nothing but cats). Most businesses do a poor job of presenting posts (just look on Explore for examples). Press releases with no engagement added or other reasons to visit. Some of the groups began before communities, so they are more like one sided conversations (posts that you can respond to but can't start yourself). I follow some pages, but do so with the same care you take when adding a person to your circles.
Photos: a sort of redundancy of the section from your Profile page but also includes private albums. You can instant upload from there as well. When you add photos, it also creates the duplicate album in Picassa with similar functions such as editing. I already posted about Picassa's Secret Auto-Opt-In, so I won't repeat myself. Suffice to say, use the same caution as posting or commenting. It could come back and bite you in the ass.
Overall, I would say that G+ improving, but is tending to veer toward catering to the FB users. It needs to chart its own course and let them find a way to join in own their own terms. They are invited to the party, but they have to eat what is here, drink what is here and listen to the music already playing.
BTW: +Google , get "Find People" into third place after Circles and Added.
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