More Options for Google+ Badges

UPDATE (2/2/12): The new Google+ badge is now out of preview and available to all users on all sites.

When we launched Google+ pages in November, we also released Google+ badges to promote your Google+ presence right on your site. Starting today in developer preview (and soon available to all your users), we're adding more options for integrating the Google+ badge into your website. You can configure a badge with a width that fits your site design and choose a version that works better on darker sites. You'll also see that Google+ badges now include the unified +1 and circle count that we added to Pages last month.

If you’re still considering whether to add a Google+ badge on your website, consider this: We recently looked at top sites using the badge and found that, on average, the badge accounted for an additional 38% of followers. When you add the badge visitors to your website can discover your Google+ page and connect in a variety of ways: they can follow your Google+ page, +1 your site, share your site with their circles, see which of their friends have +1’d your site, and click through to visit your Google+ page.

The Google+ Badge makes it easy for your fans to find and follow you on Google+. With these additional options, we hope it's even easier to create a badge that fits your website. 

Follow the conversation on Google+.

Read more »

Improving Google+ Plugins Across the Web

Over a million websites use Google+ plugins -- like the +1 button and the badge for Pages -- to help visitors connect with their brand and share their content with others. Today we're excited to announce a number of improvements to these plugins that make sharing and connecting even easier.

Easier to share from the +1 button 
Starting today, it’ll be a little easier to share right from the +1 buttons all across the web. Now, after you +1 something, the share box will pop open right away, without an extra click. Add a comment if you want, choose the people you want to share with, and you’re done.

Easier to follow brands and businesses 
When you add Google+ pages to your circles, it's typically to follow their news and updates. That's why we're updating badges for Google+ pages to read "Follow." With just one click, this button adds a business or brand to your "Following" circle, and if you want to customize which circle they're in, you can do that too.

If you're one of the many businesses and brands with a Google+ page, we've also put together a handy style guide (pdf) which includes recommended language and images for promoting your page.

Adding a badge for people, not just pages 
We heard you! Now anyone (including Britney Spears!) can add a personal Google+ badge to their web pages, and let visitors add them to circles quickly and easily.
We’ve got lots more planned for the Google+ plugins, stay tuned!

#googleplusupdate 

Read more »

A New Look for the +1 Button

UPDATE (3/14/12): Today, we released the new +1 button from preview and it’s now rolling out to all users. You may also notice the numbers in your +1 buttons increase, as we update our plugins to better reflect social activity around your content. Our Webmaster Tools Help Center article has more details on this update.  Join the conversation on Google+.


Following in the footsteps of our new red and white Google+ icon, the +1 button is sporting a fresh coat of paint. Starting today, this update will be visible first to our Google+ Platform Preview Groupand shortly thereafter we’ll roll it out to the public.

Check out the new pixels:


Before you’ve +1’d 


 
After you’ve +1’d 


The +1 buttons you’ve already installed will automatically update; there’s nothing you need to do. Stop by the updated configuration tool to see how these changes look across all the various sizes and shapes of the +1 button.

We’ll update this post when these changes graduate to the public.

Follow the conversation on Google+. 

Read more »

Moving the Google+ Hangouts API Out of Preview

One of the most important ways we connect with others is in person. That's why we're so excited about Google+ Hangouts, and why we launched a preview of the Hangouts API a few months ago. Today we're moving this API out of preview, and enabling developers to launch and share their hangout apps with the entire Google+ community!

Hangout apps are regular web apps, running in a big window inside the Hangout UI. In addition to using shared-state APIs to give users real-time interactivity, you also have access to built-in Hangout features, such as:

• Initiate a group video chat with up to 10 people 
• Control hangout microphones, cameras, speakers and volume levels 
• Add sound effects and attach image overlays to faces 
• Set UI elements such as the video feed, chat pane, and notifications

It’s easy to get started: read the documentation, build and publish your app, and then let users know. You can easily get the word out in one of two ways: 1) post a link to it on Google+, and/or 2) add the new hangout button to your website. In either case, anyone who clicks will start a new hangout with your app running inside. It then appears in the “Recent” apps pane for future hangouts.

To get the ball rolling, we're introducing a new "Apps" pane in Google+ Hangouts, as well as some featured applications, including Aces Hangout, Cacoo, Scoot & Doodle, Slideshare, Clubhouse Challenge by Bravo, and Google Effects. We’re looking forward to seeing what you can dream up in the weeks and months ahead.

Follow the conversation on Google+, and happy building!

Read more »

25 Google Plus Resources, Articles, and Reviews to Help You Get Started

Google+ (or is it “Google Plus”?), the search giant’s big social initiative, has arrived and there’s a lot to learn. Google’s answer to Facebook has been in the works for a year and has been delayed several times due to disagreements about its design, purpose, and execution. Facebook’s threat to Google’s domination of the Web was a wake-up call that ignited the development of the new social platform. Even though Facebook’s traffic seems to be slowing in the U.S. and Canada, the network’s exponential growth frightened Google’s leadership into taking action. When Facebook discovered the company’s plans, it went into  “lockdown” for 60 days and focused on completing new features like Facebook Groups, Facebook Messages, and Facebook Places.
Google refers to Google+ as a “project” rather than a product, stressing that its goal is to make Google itself more social rather than being a standalone social network that competes directly with Facebook. “It’s ‘Plus’ because it takes products from Google and makes them better and ‘project’ because it’s an ongoing set of products,” said Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president of Social. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably, well, a duck. And Google+ looks like and quacks like Facebook in many ways.

I’ve jumped into the Google Plus fray to try it out and determine what potential benefits it offers social media marketers. If you’d like to connect with me on Google+, I’m happy to include you in my circle!

25 articles, resources, and reviews to help you understand the basics of Google+

1. Google+ Unveiled: 9 Things You Need to Know
   A handy guide for learning all about Google+ features.
2. Facebook vs. Google+ [Infographic]
   A nice side-by-side comparison.
3. A Walkthrough of Google’s New Social Network, Google+
   Screenshots of Google+ features that show you the basics of the platform.
4. Getting Started With Google Plus
   A screencast by Chris Brogan that shows what to do.
5. Circles, Hangouts, Sparks: A simple guide to getting started in Google Plus
   While experienced social media users will have an inherent understanding of the of the similarities between Google Plus and other social media platforms, there are several unique features to Google’s new service.
6. The Google Plus 50
   50 thoughts about Google Plus, also from Chris Brogan.
7. How To Use Google Plus
   At its core level, Plus is not that much different from other social networks, yet there’s also so much more. How do you get started with Google Plus? Here’s a breakdown of the nuts and bolts.
8. Google+: The Complete Guide
   Google+ isn’t the easiest thing to understand. It has a lot of features that can confuse beginners. Even advanced users can miss a lot of the little gems and nuances that define Google+.
9. Google+ Guide: All You Need to Know about Google+
   A detailed guide which explains all the basic and advanced features such as UI, Profile, friends, chat, spark, features.
10. 28 Google+ Tips to Enhance Your Google Plus Experience
    A list of handy tips and tricks.
11. Google Plus: 8 Quick Tips and Tricks
    Google Plus (aka Google+), Google’s new social network, might offer the right mix of sharing and privacy to woo you away from your Facebook account. If you don’t know how to use it, though, it’s just a confusing mess of circles and contacts.
12. Your Google+ Guide: 15 Tips For Newbies
    What exactly are these “Sparks” and “Circles”? And what are the other key features of Google+? How can you make the most of your Google+ experience?
13. Google+ Improves on Facebook
    Google+, Google’s social network, has easy-to-use privacy controls and allows video chats with as many as 10 people.
14. 19 Essential Google+ Resources
    A collection of tools, reviews, and tips
15. 61 Google Plus Tips, Thoughts, and Requests
    Enough said.
16. How to Create Google Plus Profile Custom URL
    Interested in adding the new Google Plus to your social media repertoire? Be sure and grab a custom URL for your Google Plus Profile.
17. 5 Things Small Businesses Must Know About Google Plus
    Google+ (also known as G+, Google Plus or Plus) is the biggest trending topic online these days. So, what is it and why should you care about it?
18. How Will Google Plus Affect SEO?
    Officially, there’s no official indication of how Plus will affect SEO, but plenty of speculation and some obvious hints about where things may be headed.
19. Facebook engineers bring Google+ Circles to Facebook
    Four Facebook engineers have built Circle Hack, which lets you build friend lists on Facebook exactly how you build Circles on Google+.
20. Google Plus vs. Facebook: 6 Things Google+ Has That Facebook Doesn’t
    As the title suggests, this is a rundown of how Google+ is different from Facebook.
21. Google+: Where all the guys are
    Google+ is the equivalent of Alaska in the social networking world. At least two sites tracking Google+ user demographics say males make up more than 73 percent of the site’s users.
22. By the Numbers: Google+ the Biggest Social Network Launch Ever?
    Two-week-old Google+ has 10 million users already. That’s an enormous number, and makes it likely that Google+ has had the fastest out-of-the-gate velocity of any social network ever.
23. Google+ and its two-pronged relevance problem
    Google Plus has got off to a great start, but it faces two problems – both related to relevance.
24. Paul Adams: Seeing Google+ In Public Is Like Bumping Into An Ex-Girlfriend
    “It was like when you first see her you have a moment where you have a niggle of regret and wonder for a split second, but that quickly passes when you remember why you broke up with her.”
25. What MySpace’s Tom Anderson Thinks of Google+
    Tom Anderson, best known as the default friend on MySpace during its early years, co-founded MySpace with Chris DeWolfe in 2003.

Have you found any Google+ resources around the Web that you think are particularly helpful? Please share them!

Read more »