Google’s summer in the sun

By Devang Joshi
joshid@mytjnow.com

As far as tech companies go, Google is always up to something, but this summer in particular has been host to many changes by the internet search giant. 

     

Noticeable changes starting rolling out with the entire +1 campaign, a combination of Google’s highly anticipated spin on social networking Google Plus as well as in the Plus One Button, a tool that allows web developers to promote there site on the web (essentially Google’s play on the Facebook “like” button). 

       

In addition to the “plus project” changes, the very look of core Google services, such as Gmail, have begun to move towards a new look seen in the new Gmail themes “Preview” & “Preview dense” respectively. 

       

This new theme has also migrated to the Gmail login screen. A new “omni-bar” spans across the top of the screen while accessing core Google services, giving the user more of a “combined experience”, where you can update status, and check notifications all from the bar rather than switching from Gmail to Google Plus etc… Finally, Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility rounds out a summer of big changes at the company. 

       

What does this all mean? Well for starters all this change signals the fact (which may be somewhat obvious) that the company is doing very well despite the economic situation, a fact solidified by Google’s $12.6 billion dollar purchase of Motorola Mobility. 

       

It also shows that what was once a humble search engine is constantly moving to propagate the technology market across the board. 

     

So what are my thoughts? Well I’m glad you asked!

• Google Plus: Although it joins the world of “yet another social networking site”, Google Plus is a very nice setup indeed. Its simple layout is familiar to anyone who has used Facebook, yet it does not fall short on the privacy aspect. Final verdict: thumbs up.

• Google Plus One Button: For the everyday user, the Plus One Button allows users to promote content and share with their friends. Final verdict: thumbs up for developers, maybe not so much for the average user.

• Google new “preview theme”: From changing the background of Google.com and putting a fresh spin on your Gmail page, Google has been pushing themes for quite a while. Final verdict: new is good, but it’s never good when new is also ugly. Thumbs down.

     

Questions, comments or concerns? Got something to add? Let me know via email: joshid@mytjnow.com