Google+ Upgrade Rolls Out: Beautiful New Look


google+ upgrade

Google announced dozens of changes and upgrades to Google+, its social network, today.

Google+, launched in 2011, is is a relative newcomer to the social media game. And Google has been known for launching things and then either not investing in them further or shutting them down.

Not so with Google+.

Google has shown remarkable commitment to improving Google+.  And this latest Google+ upgrade is one more example. Here at Small Business Trends we are still investigating the changes.  But at first blush they seem like positive improvements that small business owners will love — visually and functionally.

Here are some of the changes rolled out today:

  • More “Pinteresty” look:  Content updates now appear as boxes.  If you share an image or video, they take up a lot of space in each box, making such visual content more prominent. See image above.
  • Multi-column layout:  Depending on the screen resolution and type of device you’re using, you may see a one column, two column or three column layout.  It’s what is known as “responsive design” and considered a best practice in our world of mobile and other sized devices.
  • Left menu slides out, top navigation bar “sticks”:  The menus and navigation are there for you as and when needed. They don’t disappear as you scroll down the page and they don’t take up precious screen space.  The gigantic cover (header) images that quite a few users do not care for, go up out of the way.
  • Related hashtags:  Related hashtags are a new feature that you can use to tag your content so that readers can find related topics.  And here’s an interesting bit:  Google will actually tag your content with hashtags for you.  You can remove the Google-placed hashtags if you wish and just use your own.
  • Hangouts get improvements:  Google’s videoconferencing app, Google Hangouts, got substantial upgrades. Google  launched a standalone version of Hangouts that works across Android, iOS and your computer. It makes hangouts more functional for making quick video calls. See the video below for more about these changes.
  • Photos get more storage, smarter features:  Google+ will “with your permission… automatically back up your mobile pics as you snap them.”  Resized images get free unlimited storage. Google+ will help you highlight the best images, by de-emphasizing blurry images and duplicates.  There’s also Auto enhance, which can “improve brightness, contrast, saturation, structure, noise, focus… and dozens of other factors automatically.”

 


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Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

10 Reactions
  1. Janelle Pierce

    Hello,
    My name is Janelle, I’ve tried using the email provided to contact your blog but I thought I would try leaving a comment as well. I was hoping to talk to someone about potentially doing a guest post. I have a few ideas for an article based on a point of sales or merchant account for businesses. I do have several specific ideas, but I’d like to discuss those over email. Please send me an email if a guest post is an option. Thank you
    Janelle

  2. Anita,

    Indeed, Google+ looks better right now. It feels like Pinterest, RebelMouse and other similar-looking update streams, but hey – it’s effective and that’s what matter.

    Related hashtags is also a great addition to Google+, in my opinion…

    • Anita Campbell

      Hi Ivan, I agree that related hashtags is an excellent feature. It’s even more intriguing that Google will add them. We’ll see how that goes and how well that feature works, but it’s certainly exciting.

      – Anita

  3. Hi Anita, Thanks for the update. I think the new G+ design looks fantastic and I really like hashtags feature.

    • Anita Campbell

      Hi Niall, Yes, I think the new Google+ looks great. I am not a fan of those gigantic cover images, but mostly they get moved out of the way. These are real improvements.

      – Anita

  4. Im so jealous, I still have not received the update to my Google+!!!!

  5. Anita,

    I was really surprised when I opened up Google+ yesterday.

    Cool look!

    I’m very impressed by it.

    Maybe this redesign will help get this social network to the next level.

    The Franchise King®

    • Hi Joel,

      It’s silly not to use Google+, but I’ll tell you one thing that stops me from using it. That’s the sign-on. I use Google Apps under one email address, and to use Google+ I have to sign in using a different one — thereby kicking myself out of email. And after 5 minutes of fiddling around I manage to stay logged in to both. But to go through that all the time, puts a chilling effect on my usage.

      I can’t be the only one dealing with that.

      But I digress…. It really is an elegant new look for Google+.

      – Anita

  6. I have been watching them transform their platform and use the feedback from the recent FB changes and use it to their advantage. I love G+ and plan on spending a lot more time on it this year. Clean, classy, fun and better engagement, not to mention how much Google loves it when you use it.