Google Plus plus Meebo equals Google minus $100m Google is set to acquire website widget maker Meebo for a reported price tag of $100m (£64.8m) in a clear move to drum up interest in Google+, the ad giant's flagging social network. Meebo confirmed the planned takeover in a blog post on Sunday. The cloud-based upstart makes a button bar that, among other things, appears on …
Google+, the ad giant's flagging social network.
Can you please stop thinking of Google+ as a social network. Having it as the backbone of nearly ubiquitous Google profiles makes it both more and less, depending on what you want from it, than that. Anyone with a Google Play account for their Android device has such a profile. There is value in just that for both Google and users.
More insightful analysis into the role of the gatekeepers and identity traders such as Google and Facebook instead of simply repeating trite sound bites would be appreciated.
Where websites suddenly sprout "toolbars" that eat window real estate, obscure the content I came looking for, eat cycles, and then turn out to refuse to turn the darn things off? Because, oh, my browser window isn't full screen all the time and hey my screen is only 1024 pixels wide so any off buttons just happen to lie right outside the window, and without scrollbar are so effectively unreachable? Those "features"?
Or the same thing but that only pops in until after you've scrolled down a bit? Or maybe those things that pop in at the end of an article "go read this too"?
I hate them. All of them. They get blocked any way I can. Along with moving anything that isn't the main focus of the page. Foo, ads that don't move are obnoxious enough. That stuff is so much worse.
So why yes, plunk a hundred million on new ways to hate on your users, google. I've given up on you as a search engine exactly because all that "helpful" javascript that tries to outguess me. Like trying to talk to someone who never lets you end a sentence. That's what the google experience is these days. These guys fit right into that. Good call.
You can turn of the auto-complete/instant suggestions here:-
http://www.google.com/preferences
...but, then again, you may not want Google tracking your search history and could be blocking use of cookies or do not have a Google profile to log into.
But I agree, I'm not a fan of installing browser toolbars either!
" flagging social network." says who, it's very vibrant where I am.. Sounds like you have rubbish circles.
Obviously g+ also has private circles, so it's impossible to measure churn.
Still why let all that get in the way of a story. You have to wonder if the writers here have facebook stock, and what el-reg ethics policy is with regards to this and other conflicts of interest..
Does el reg even publish their editorial ethics policy? If not, then why not.
"You have to wonder if the writers here have facebook stock..."
No, but I am forced to wonder if you're an utter n00b around here. You haven't noticed the dripping sarcasm that anything Facebum related gets laced with and the recent "make hay while the sun shines" gleeful reporting of the fallout from Zuckerbitch's IPO then?
It's more a matter of catering to an audience that would appear to be generally of the opinion that Social Networks are aimed fairly and squarely at retarded sheep.....
I was trying yesterday to post a review for a store on Google Maps and what do you think, Google asks me to join G+ just to be able to do that.
Well, the review went on YellowPages and G+ can stuff it.
Just to make sure I am not accused of supporting FB: I cancelled my FB account a few months ago.
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