2 The Next Level

It took 40 days and 40 nights for Noah to see dry land back when his Ark was the only thing on earth above water. Google+ literally weathered the storm of past failures by becoming the fastest social network to reach 25 million users in history. It took Facebook nearly three years to reach 25 million visitors and Twitter taking roughly 30 months to reach the same visitor amount of visitors.

I first highlighted G+ when they hit the 10 million users in 10 days. Since then, I have all but abandoned Facebook and my Twitter use has dropped to next to nothing. For those of us who have been  using Google+ from almost day one, we have already seen the light and its getting better one circle at a time.

So If you still think Google is just a ship passing in the night. Check out the video below by Epipheo Studios. Enjoy.

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I will be one of the guest speakers at the Atlanta Tribune’s 9th Annual Moving Your Business Forward Conference.
My topic of discussion will be the 5 Ways to Take Your Business to the Next Level Using the Google Cloud

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (ET)

Click here to register

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I have to say I am very impressed with Google+ so far. It has a lot to offer technogeeks like myself. But can it go mainstream like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.  Before being invited to try Google+ I spent most of my time on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, in that order.  Now the order is more like Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Here is a great visual aide on how to explain Google+

Facebook+ Twitter+ Tumblr = Google+

What I like most about Google+

Something so simple yet so amazingly complex is ones circle of connections to people and to the world. We all have many circles relationships we come across  in our daily lives. Google has made this shape the backbone of its social network. These circles serve as a visible way to organize, share and secure information with only the people you identify. You can create and name as many circles as you like, yet none of those whom you put in these circles knows what circle you have placed them in. They also don’t know that they have been placed in the same  or different circles.  With this concept you don’t have to worry about mistakenly sharing the wrong information with someone who may not like it or may take offense by it. If you really look at it, it’s kinda like Social Segregation at its finest.

What I like least about Google+

There may be 10 million plus using it now but they are still limiting it to invitation only. Google has done this with almost all of it’s services, and I kinda understand it but that does not mean I have to like it. The invites are also currently limited to those who have a gmail account. So if you have anything else you will be forced to create a Google profile that requires you to have a Google gmail account.

What I think still needs some work

Google has taken video conferencing 2 the next level with their new “Hangout” service inside Google+. Creating a Hangout was very easy and made you take notice of how cool it is to get together with some of your friends face to face via the Internet.  The audio was impressive but the video was a little choppy and delayed.  You also only get to speak to 10 people at once. I say this only because 10 is currently the maximum number they have right now and I can’t really fathom video chatting with more than 5 people at one time let alone 10. Can you imaging a video conference session with say more than 20 people?

What I think will make Google+ even more appealing.

Google launched a native Google+ mobile app for all of its Android users right around the same time they launched the service. The app makes Google+ even easier to use and even adds a group chat service called “Huddle” to the mix.  Most smart phones still don’t have a front facing camera so I understand why the “Hangout” service is currently not on the Android app.  Although I do think they will add this feature when they release the mobile app for the iPhone and iPad. Google+ is probably working on integrating their Hangout service with the iOS “FaceTime” feature.  When this happens I think Google’s mobile subscribers to Google+ will skyrocket, taking that 10 million plus number in 10 days to record heights.

Why I think you should try it once you get invited.

Google has put a lot of thought behind this new social network. They have definitely learned from their many mistakes and failures of the past. (see: Why Is Google Not Afraid To Fail?) Google has also seen what has worked successfully for other social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All of this work by Google has allowed us all to benefit from what Google+ has brought to the table.  Is Google+ a “Facebook Killer”? only time will tell.  I suggest you check it out for yourself and make your own comparisons. Google+ is by no means the perfect social networking site, especially with the current invite limitations. Yet I can’t help but think that some of the ex employees of MySpace who currently work for Twitter or Facebook are secretly thinking, “OH SH**, Not AGAIN!!!;-)

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This is a more up to date but shorter version of the Original video on the Social Media Revolution. I have to say I like the new song but I do think they could have added some of the major events that happened in the middle east as a result to using Facebook. Part of the world’s most watched Social Media video series; “Social Media Revolution” by Erik Qualman.

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Clarence Wooten has done it again. Mr Wooten has taken the location based social networking service 2 The Next Level. Just like he did with his Groupsite service back in 2008. I just watched the video presentation of Mr. Wooten’s newest creation at the TechChrunch Disrupt event in New York City. I am originally from New York so am highly upset that I was not able to attend this years Disrupt especially because Mr. Wooten was presenting.

If you are familiar with location based social networking services like Foresquare and Gowalla then you will definitely understand why Arrived is on point to make noise in this space.

With the Arrived app you can select a place, and add people to notify when you get to the specific location. The people selected can either opt in to be notified or to notify you upon their arrival to that specific location. Combining geo-fencing, auto-checkins, and notifications Arrived wants to provide value consumers without requiring them to change any behavior patterns or check-in.

Here is how Clarence Wooten described “Soft-Plans”

So if you’ve ever said to a friend, “Let’s hang out the next time you’re in town,” raise your hand. Right, a hundred percent. Well you may not have realized it at the time but you were making soft plans, and soft plans are casual plans with no set date and time. They revolve around a place as opposed to a set date and time.

Introducing Arrived, make soft plans and spontaneously meet up when timing is right.

Take a look at the video below and see for yourself. Arrived has all the makings of a social application that can help you keep track of, and organize your day to day event calendar.  Without even trying this app can do more with just one event by merging the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Meetup and Foursquare. What’s event better is that it can keep it all public or got incognito by using its “Pause” feature.

Check out Mr. Wooten’s comment about “Arrivalytics”

So we created Arrivalytics. Arrivalytics is our proprietary recommendations algorithm that leverages machine learning to analyze your sociograph and make Arrival recommendations, based upon the shared interests, locations and travel pattern of people in the network. We think this is big. The reason it’s big, is because there’s not a technology that exists today that will help you manufacture serendipity, bring you face to face with people in your network when both time and place right.

All in all I am looking forward to using this app once it is officially released.  All the best with your new venture Mr. Wooten and continue to be one of the leaders in taking business 2 The Next Level using technology.

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