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Tag: Bradley Horowitz

  • Google: Google+ Will Never Have Ads [Update: Actually, Google+ May One Day Have Ads]

    Google: Google+ Will Never Have Ads [Update: Actually, Google+ May One Day Have Ads]

    Update: Apparently Scoble got it wrong when quoting Horowitz, and he did not actually say that Google+ will never have ads. Scoble said later in a comment on Google+:

    Also, sorry to +Bradley Horowitz for getting his quote wrong (apparently he didn’t say they would never put ads on Google+). I’ll work with him to get it fixed up.

    A Google spokesperson pointed out this retraction. When asked if it was fair then to assume that Google+ may one day have ads, they said, “I wouldn’t assume anything – we just wanted to be clear that Bradley never made a comment like that.”

    Original Article: As previously reported, Google’s Bradley Horowitz announced at LeWeb London that Google+ integration is coming to Flipboard. He reportedly said something else at the event, however, that may be much more significant.

    According to Robert Scoble (an avid Google+ user), Horowitz said that “Google+ will never include advertising”.

    “Never is a long time, but it’s clear that they want to provide the industry-leading user experience,” Scoble comments in a Google+ update.

    It seems almost too hard to believe that Google would never put ads on Google+, given that ads are Google’s primary revenue source, and Google wants to integrate Google+ into nearly every other product it has in more and more ways. Google+ is Google’s way of getting the kind of social data about consumers that have made Facebook’s ads so successful. It’s very surprising that Google would make such a bold claim, even if they don’t have immediate plans to put ads next to your stream.

    Surely, many users will be happy to hear it. Will investors?

    Here are some of the related comments from readers on Scoble’s post:

    Ben Greenwood: “No ads EVER on Google+? I do hope they stick to that.”

    Travis Koger: “I have been saying from the beginning that they have no reason to have advertising here. Search is the advertising, along with local when it ramps up more. Search feeds both in and out for G+, therefore there is no reason to add ads here.”

    Vuyo Mtoba: “Yay!! No ads. Now that Flipboard is coming to +Android its the right time. Good move Google.”

    The point about local is certainly valid. Google did just make local search all about Google+ Local.

    The full discussion with Horowitz should be available here soon.

  • Google+ For The Enterprise Coming Soon?

    Google+ Vice President of Product Management, Bradley Horowitz, made several interesting announcements related to Google’s social network at the LeWeb London conference. For one, Google+ is coming to Flipboard. Perhaps even more interesting, he said that Google+ will never have ads.

    According to a report from ComputerWorld, Horowitz also revealed that a version of Google+ for enterprise users is on the way. He’s quoted as saying:

    “We think that the enterprise-use case, everyone from multinational corporations to mum and pop businesses, is a fantastic opportunity for Google and Google+…”

    “”I think there is a real market need, and we are focused on it. It is something we definitely going to do…”

    The API will no doubt be a huge factor, and major announcements surrounding Google+ are expected from Google I/O – the company’s developer conference – which takes place next week.

    Google has already made Google+ a central point of business’ web presence, simply by essentially replacing Google Places with Google+ Local. Google+ Pages are also integrated with Google Apps. It will be very interesting to see what more Google has in store for enterprise-level businesses.

    Horowitz’s discussion at LeWeb should soon be available here.

  • Google Finds More Exposure For Google+ With Flipboard Partnership

    Google has partnered with popular iOS news reader Flipboard to integrate Google+ into the product. Google+ Vice President of Product Management, Bradley Horowitz, announced as much at LeWeb London.

    The discussion with Horowitz from the conference will be available here, once it has been processed.

    Essentially, Flipboard users will be able to view streams from their Google+ circles as part of their news-reading experience.

    Horowitz had the following to say in a Google+ post:

    Bradley Horowitz

    Bradley Horowitz 2 hours ago

    Thrilled to announce our partnership with Flipboard!

    We've seen incredible excitement from the Developer community around G+ API's…  Back in November, we began testing these API's with a number of select high-impact partners.  The feedback has been invaluable… we've learned a ton and adapted accordingly.

    Today, I'm pleased to announce we're adding Flipboard to this list of partners.  *Flipboard told us that Google+ support was their number one requested feature.*  They've done a great job of integrating Google+ content and features (including extensive support for Circles) within the context of their product.  Their team is hugely talented and it's been a pleasure working with them.

    I demonstrated an early beta build today – keep watching +Flipboard for more information on general availability of their Google+-enabled app. 283    35 Powered by socialditto

    Given Flipboard’s popularity among iOS users, this is a good opportunity for Google to get more people engaged with their Google+ accounts. With Google losing its presence in the iOS Maps app, it’s one more way for Google to get in front of iOS users in general. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it makes up for the Maps situation, but at least it’s something.

    It also looks better for Google+ to be present in Flipboard, among competitors like Twitter and Facebook.

    Flipboard is available for Android, in beta, by the way.

  • Google+ Now Accepting Pseudonyms, Nicknames

    Three months after making a promise to their users, Google has remained true to their word: Google+ will now allow psuedonyms.

    Earlier today, Bradley Horowitz, Google+ Vice President of Product Management, posted the announcement to his account, which said they’re finally going to listen to the users who want to use nicknames and pseudonyms:

    Over the next week, we’ll be adding support for alternate names – be they nicknames, maiden names, or names in another script – alongside your common name. This name will show up on your Google+ profile and in the hovercards which appear over your name. In the next few weeks, we’ll be displaying it more broadly as part of your name in other areas of Google+ as well. So if you’re Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jane Doe (Smith), or Saurabh Sharma (सौरभ शर्मा), you can now communicate your identity the way you want to.

    To add an alternate name, go to your Google+ profile, click Edit Profile, select your name and click on “More options.” (See attached photos)

    Horowitz did remind Google+ users, however, that when you change your name in Google+, that change is going to appear throughout all of your Googleness.

    Further in the post, Horowitz also announced an update to Google’s policies and processes “broaden support for established pseudonyms. If you get flagged and feel that it’s in error, you can now provide the Google+ people with information to help confirm your established identity.

    He concluded by saying that the mission to improve Google+ will continue to rely on the feedback he and his team receive from users:

    Today is a small step towards improving the ways in which you can communicate your identity on Google+. We will be listening to feedback from the community and will continue to refine all aspects of how we handle names and identity over the coming weeks, months and beyond.

    So you heard him: this feature is live. Go get your Matrix second-name in effect on your Google+ account now.

  • Google Talks Upcoming Improvements to Name Handling for Google+ Profiles

    Google’s Bradley Horowitz wrote a post on Google+ about how the company is handling its process for informing users when they are violating its policy on user names. Google is working on changes to the process, though they may not be in effect just yet.

    For one, users will be given a warning and a chance to correct their name before their accounts are suspended, though if Google determines that the account is violating other policies (like spamming) then it will still be suspended immediately.

    There will be a clear indication of how the user can edit their name, and there will be “better expectation setting” as to next steps and timeframes for users engaged int he process, Horowitz says, adding that they’re also looking at ways to improve the signup process to reduce the chances that users will “get themselves into a state that will later result in review.”

    “Third, we’ve noticed that some people are using their profile name to show-off nicknames, maiden names and personal descriptions,” Horowitz writes. “While the profile name doesn’t accommodate this, we want to support your friends finding you by these alternate names and give you a prominent way of displaying this info in Google+.”

    “If you add nicknames, maiden names, etc. to the ‘Other names’ portion of your G+ profile, those with permission to view those fields can search for you using that term,” he explains. “For example: some of my colleagues call me “elatable,” a pseudonym I’ve used on many services, so I’ve added it to my list of other names.”

    It’s unclear when these features will become reality, but according to Horowitz, it will be ASAP.

    For the time being, if you’re looking to set up a profile, you’d probably do well to just stick with your real name.

    It’s also worth noting, however, that Google will not suspend your entire Google account for violating the common name standards. You’ll still be able to use things like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Blogger, etc.

  • Google Distances Buzz From Facebook, Twitter

    The idea that Google Buzz poses no threat to Facebook and Twitter is perhaps a popular one; Buzz, of course, got off to a very shaky start due to some privacy missteps.  Interestingly, though, a Google exec claims to agree with the idea, stating that Buzz is supposed to serve a different purpose.

    Cynics might argue that Google’s only refrained from declaring social media war because Buzz’s launch went badly.  Or because it would be contrary to the warm and fuzzy impression the search giant likes to project.

    Still, Bradley Horowitz, Google’s vice president of product management, told Clint Boulton that Buzz is "absolutely not" supposed to compete with Facebook and Twitter.

    Horowitz explained, "[T]his is creating a new category of communication.  It’s filling a niche, which is not currently met in the market.  I think something unique is happening on Buzz that will continue to evolve.  It’s hard to create a trend line or extrapolate too much from six days of use, but certainly conversation and the conversational Web is a place where Buzz has excelled.  I think it is unique and offers a compelling, interesting experience."

    For comparison’s sake: Boulton noted that Google Buzz users created around nine million posts and comments during its first week up and running.  On Facebook, users share more than five billion pieces of content per week.