plus-badgeThere’s been plenty of buzz in the past few days over the Google+ redesign options. According the Google+ release issued May 15, “190 million people are now active in the Google+ stream, and 390 million are active across Google (+1’ing apps in Google Play, making video calls in Gmail, sharing videos from YouTube…).”

Their new redesign includes added features such as:

  • A multi-column layout. You’ll see one, two, or three columns of content depending on your screen size and orientation.
  • Awesome-sized media. Photos and videos can fill the entire width of the stream, making it easier to scan, and nicer to look at. (You may need to reload higher quality art to look good on the huge cover photo layout).
  • Delightful animations. The sharebox bounces, the menus slide, and the cards flip and fade — just to name a few.
  • You can always say hello, face-to-face-to-face. Whether you’re 1-on-1 or with a group of friends, you can always make a free video call to everyone you’re with via the new Hangouts stand-alone feature.
  • The app is available in lots of places. You can download Hangouts from Google Play, the App Store, and the Chrome Web Store. It’s also part of Gmail and Google+.

Read the Google+ release and view the demo videos HERE, then check out what industry insiders are saying below. Which benefits do you see most beneficial as an author? On Tuesday, we’ll take a closer look at optimizing your Google+ book page…

Google+ Redesign: This Week in Social Media | Social Media

www.socialmediaexaminer.com5/18/13

Social media news and new developments making social media marketing easier. (Google+ new design, Google Hangout app…)

Google+ Gets Big, Image-Heavy Redesign – Search Engine Watch

searchenginewatch.com5/16/13

Google has revamped Google+. The new look and feel puts images front and center. While some new photo features and enhancements add some interesting functionality, the ridiculously huge cover photos are a bit hard for

Google+ Redesigns Its Stream To Include Multi-Column Google

techcrunch.com5/15/13

Google+, the social layer that Google introduced almost two years ago, has evolved quite a bit since its launch. Today, the company announced a complete redesign…

What Google was thinking when redesigning the new Google+

gigaom.com5/15/13

Google’s reworking of its social network, Google+ shows that the company has started to marry data with design and craft new experiences. Will that be enough to turn you and I into active participants? Who, knows, I am just

Tagged on: