It’s difficult to believe that it has only been a year since Google launched its social network, Google+, in summer 2011. Since its inception, Google+ has seen a redesign and new features, been named the number one social network for businesses, been integrated with Google Apps, and gained more than 250 million users.
The first anniversary of the launch of Google+ fell during the annual Google I/O conference. In the past, Google has made major announcements, such as the introduction of Android and Chrome, during the conference.
For the 2012 conference, Google celebrated the first year of its social network by making some important announcements about Google+, among others. Attendees learned that Google has made and will soon release Google+ tablet applications for Androids and iPads. Those who have previewed the Google+ tablet app report that it has improved features for hangouts and an animated stream, making interaction easy and enjoyable.
Additionally, Google announced yet another new feature for the social network. Google+ now has Google+ Events, which allow users to create pages for events and invite others to attend. While other networks have similar tools, Google+ Events is different because it is extremely interactive and is based on multimedia. For example, users can create video invitations and can turn on “Party Mode” to automatically upload photos and videos from the event to the Google+ Event page as they are shot.
Looking back over the first year of Google+, it’s easy to see that Google has invested resources into improving the social network. The reason for such efforts is simple: Google+ plays an extremely important role in the entire Google network. Most recently, Google has sought to make a simpler and more seamless online experience for Google users, and it sees Google+ as the key to bringing all of its many platforms together. While the new privacy policy that encompasses all of the Google platforms was a big step in the right direction, Google intends to use the social network to bring its various services even closer together.
As Google continues to grow and enhance Google+, users can be sure that this increasingly popular social network will only improve upon the success of its first year.
About the Author
Cloud Sherpas is a leading cloud service provider and was named the “Google Enterprise 2011 Partner of the Year.” As one of the first Google Enterprise partners, Cloud Sherpas has migrated over one million users across a variety of industries from legacy, on-premise messaging systems to Google Apps, helping organizations adopt cloud computing to innovate and dramatically reduce their IT expenses. A Google Apps Reseller in Atlanta, GA, Cloud Sherpas has regional offices in locations including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Austin and Sydney, and has more Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialists than any other partner in the world.
