Google+
Google+ launched their latest feature last night - Events. Popular users like Wil Wheaton have been ranting all day today on how much they absolutely hate the feature, because they are being bombarded with invites ... but as a less... popular user, I'm going to share why I so far love this feature and am excited to see how it develops.
Events have (in my opinion) always been the one thing that still made it "worth" keeping up with Facebook. People are lazy, and unless you are on Facebook, you risk not being invited to things anymore. It's much easier to add a bunch of people to an invite, and make people aware of a happening that way. Of course everyone needs a Facebook account to be able to RSVP - actually, you need a Facebook account in order to be invited at all. This is incredibly restricting, and part of why I really don't like Facebook. It might make it easier for people to "keep in touch", but it also makes it a lot easier for people to drift apart.
Events on Google+ aren't as restrictive. At least not yet. You can send invites to whomever you choose. People without Google accounts or Google+ accounts can access the event information, and RSVP to the event. This includes private events.
You can invite whole circles, specific individuals from several circles, or other people by entering ther e-mail addresses. You can make both public and private events.
I tested it out last night by sending an invite to an e-mail that's not associated with Google in any way. It worked perfectly. You were taken to the event page. Got all the information, and could leave your name and whether you'd be going or not. This name can be anything, as long as it follows Google+ naming standards. So either use your real name, or come up with a full name alias for yourself. I tend to use Tofu McTwiss or variations thereof for webforms that ask for full name (where I don't feel comfortable leaving my actual name).
Of course they need to fix the issue with popular users being bombarded with invites. There should be some sort of opt-out/in and/or a filtering system for the G+ stream, but the Google team is actively working on this, so I'm confident it'll be taken care of.
It really annoys me when I see people commenting "they should only allow you to invite people you've added to your circles". NO. I can't stress this enough, what would be the point then? There would be absolutely nothing to set this service apart from Facebook's, and that would be a huge loss. I sincerely hope they won't resort to solving the spamming issue by restricting who you're able to invite. I'd love to be able to invite all my non G+ friends to the events I create. Hopefully maybe bring some over in the process.
And let's all take a moment to just appreciate the absolutely stunning canvas banners the Google team has put together for the feature. You know those cinemagraphs that's been going around tumblr and other parts of the web for a while now? They are like those, except themed for every kind of event possible. Love them! They also have a whole bunch of stationary banners, and you can always use your own pictures as Event banners as well. Lots of customisation options make me happy. Especially when they're done right.
Google+ is my preferred social network at the moment (I do not count LJ as a social network, don't worry). I find it easier to share pictures on there than on twitter, it's also easier to view them both online and in the mobile app - which is beautiful, by the way. Took some getting used to, but now I really like it. G+ is pretty much what you make it, though. I'm guessing it's pretty quiet for most people. It is for me as well, but I keep up with a lot of geeky news on there, and it is by far the funnest, quickest way to share random fun things you discover online.
TL;DR - people should use Google+, they just launched their own Events feature, and it is amazing :D Add me! 8D
Events have (in my opinion) always been the one thing that still made it "worth" keeping up with Facebook. People are lazy, and unless you are on Facebook, you risk not being invited to things anymore. It's much easier to add a bunch of people to an invite, and make people aware of a happening that way. Of course everyone needs a Facebook account to be able to RSVP - actually, you need a Facebook account in order to be invited at all. This is incredibly restricting, and part of why I really don't like Facebook. It might make it easier for people to "keep in touch", but it also makes it a lot easier for people to drift apart.
Events on Google+ aren't as restrictive. At least not yet. You can send invites to whomever you choose. People without Google accounts or Google+ accounts can access the event information, and RSVP to the event. This includes private events.
You can invite whole circles, specific individuals from several circles, or other people by entering ther e-mail addresses. You can make both public and private events.
I tested it out last night by sending an invite to an e-mail that's not associated with Google in any way. It worked perfectly. You were taken to the event page. Got all the information, and could leave your name and whether you'd be going or not. This name can be anything, as long as it follows Google+ naming standards. So either use your real name, or come up with a full name alias for yourself. I tend to use Tofu McTwiss or variations thereof for webforms that ask for full name (where I don't feel comfortable leaving my actual name).
Of course they need to fix the issue with popular users being bombarded with invites. There should be some sort of opt-out/in and/or a filtering system for the G+ stream, but the Google team is actively working on this, so I'm confident it'll be taken care of.
It really annoys me when I see people commenting "they should only allow you to invite people you've added to your circles". NO. I can't stress this enough, what would be the point then? There would be absolutely nothing to set this service apart from Facebook's, and that would be a huge loss. I sincerely hope they won't resort to solving the spamming issue by restricting who you're able to invite. I'd love to be able to invite all my non G+ friends to the events I create. Hopefully maybe bring some over in the process.
And let's all take a moment to just appreciate the absolutely stunning canvas banners the Google team has put together for the feature. You know those cinemagraphs that's been going around tumblr and other parts of the web for a while now? They are like those, except themed for every kind of event possible. Love them! They also have a whole bunch of stationary banners, and you can always use your own pictures as Event banners as well. Lots of customisation options make me happy. Especially when they're done right.
Google+ is my preferred social network at the moment (I do not count LJ as a social network, don't worry). I find it easier to share pictures on there than on twitter, it's also easier to view them both online and in the mobile app - which is beautiful, by the way. Took some getting used to, but now I really like it. G+ is pretty much what you make it, though. I'm guessing it's pretty quiet for most people. It is for me as well, but I keep up with a lot of geeky news on there, and it is by far the funnest, quickest way to share random fun things you discover online.
TL;DR - people should use Google+, they just launched their own Events feature, and it is amazing :D Add me! 8D