Google Space

Google rolled out a brand new feature for its Google+ social network today, which brings the ability to form groups based around a specific interest, organization, or passion. The new Google+ Communities feature is very similar to the staple Facebook Groups feature, which lets you communicate with a group of people in a more specific way than you would by sharing information broadly with the entire social network. It’s also a feature that’s been lacking on Google+ since its initial launch. “What’s been missing  … are more permanent homes for all the stuff you love: the wonderful, the weird, and yes, even the things that are waaay out there,” wrote Google SVP Vic Gundotra in a recent  blog post . “With Google+ Communities there’s now a gathering place for your passions.” So what’s the difference between Google+ Communities and Facebook Groups? Well, there are a few notable things, including the ability to start a Google Hangout video chat with the community and shari...

Google today released an Android version of the sophisticated photo-editing application Snapseed, a product it picked up in its   acquisition   of photography software developer Nik Software. The company also updated the Snapsneed app for iOS to make it free. Snapseed’s mobile application features auto correct and filters, just like Facebook-owned Instagram, but is more robust in the photo-editing department and not a social network for following friends’ or celebrities’ captures. The application won last year’s Apple’s iPad app of the year award. Snapseed for Android , released Thursday, comes with all the same goodies previously found on iOS, including the ability to selectively adjust photo elements such as focus, brightness, saturation, contrast, and white balance. Both the newly free iOS app and the brand-new Android app come with one-click sharing to Google+, of course. The releases are all about enhancing Google’s position in the hierarchy of places to co...

Google+ hangouts gets new makeover with a new sidebar  It is no secret anymore that hangouts is one of the popular and most used feature on Google+. Given its wonderful features and being FREE, there is no doubt that it is widely used for online meetings by people around the world. But hangouts have a 10 user maximum limit and this doesn't work well for some official meetings. So, Google+ team took note of it and made some changes.

500 million Google+ total users as of December 2012 Google+ hits another milestone today by crossing 500 million+ total users and 135 million+ active users. Back in September when we reported about 400 million+ total users , we also predicted the network has the potential to reach around 450 – 500 millions users by end of the year 2012. To our’s and many others surprise, Google+ has way ahead reached that mark with still a month to go. official statistics: -  Google+ has over 500 million+ users -  135 million+ active users -  235 million active users across Google products   For a network of this young (with just 17 months since launched as beta in June 2011) this is a remarkable achievement. We wish more success in months and years to come. Congrats Google+! You did it and deserve it!!

Yesterday, Google announced a new feature for Google+.  when you share links from Google Drive, people in your circles will be able to flip through presentations, open PDFs, play videos, and more, right from your Google+ stream. Here's the official  announcement on Google+ . I'm sure we'll see lots of people making good use of this new feature. Beyond the obvious business collaboration and sharing benefits, it's a great chance for Google+ users to get even more creative with their posts. Have fun trying it out and let us know if you have any tips on how to best use the new feature in the comments.

Google bought “photography first” mobile app developer  Nik Software  today, meaning it now owns Instagram competitor Snapseed. But while Snapseed gives Google those sepia filters, it also provides an arsenal of photography apps the company can use for its social network, Google+. Snapseed  raises eyebrows because it’s a competitor to Instagram, which Facebook bought for $1 billion in April. Instagram is wildly popular and was already showing signs of its dominance when Facebook picked it up. At the time Instagram had roughly 30 million users. Today, it has over 100 million users, according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The social network wrapped up the deal last week after the Federal Trade Commission OK’d it, which may be putting pressure on Google to compete. Snapseed, of course, doesn't have the following or fame of Instagram. It’s more likely that Google wants Nik Software, which creates a number of different photography apps,...

400 million total users as of september 2012 according to latest official statistics from google Google+ has reached today another new remarkable milestone of  400 million+ total users  as of september 2012 according to a new official statistics released today. Google+ total users Sept 2012 +Vic Gundotra, VP of Engineering at Google has broke the news that Google+ is now 400 million+ total users strong and 1 out of every 4 is active on the network. I.e. over 100 million users post, share and actively use the network. This undoubtedly makes it is the second largest social network of all times only next to its rival Facebook. Congrats Google+ on this remarkable achievement. Part of the announcement was the acquirer of Nik Software, the makers of the popular SnapSeed mobile photo editing app (an Instagram rival). With Snapseed developers soon going to be part of Google+ team, we can expect tremendous changes to photo editing in Google+ (mobile app and the...