Traffic
Google is making its strongest push yet to go after Facebook by revamping its Google+ social network with dozens of new features and enhancements, including self-editing photos, automatic hashtags and improved messaging.
The changes, which were announced at Google’s developer conference Wednesday morning and began rolling out later in the day, show how Google is trying to use all of its technological heft against Facebook.
“We just put the Google into Google+ and finally allow technology to get out of the way,” said Vic Gundotra, Google’s senior vice president for engineering.
The changes — 41 new features or enhancements in all — center on three major areas: the Google+ social stream, Hangouts and photos.
With photos, Google is gunning for the most popular activity on Facebook, which also owns mobile photo-sharing app Instagram.
Gundotra said the company was offering its cloud computing technology to be “your new darkroom.”
“You have amazing images that are the most precious images of your life,” he said.
But processing photos is “very labor intensive,” he said. “At Google, we think we can give some of your time back.”
For instance, one new feature uses computer algorithms to sift through a big batch of photos uploaded online to find the best to share with friends. The algorithms scan for numerous factors, such as whether a photo shows a landmark, is sharp or blurry, has people who are smiling and happy and is framed artistically.
The technology also determines whether people in the photo are most important to the account holder.
And there are automatic photo enhancements, such as filters that can reduce the prominence of forehead wrinkles and can compensate for over- or under-exposure.
There are also “auto awesome” features that can turn bursts of photos into moving GIFs, collages and panoramas. One feature can combine several shots into one with everyone in it smiling.
“All you have to do is upload your images and we will apply all of this for you and still give you control,” Gundotra said.
Google hopes people will use the photo tools to share more on Google+, which is being redesigned to be more interactive. Google+ members can choose to lay out their social stream in up to three columns that seem to combine elements from picture-centric social networks Pinterest and Flipboard.
Items in the stream can be flipped around like a baseball card to find more information on the reverse. And Google will automatically tag posts with relevant hashtags, such as “#BusterPosey” or “#Eiffel Tower.”
Hangouts is being revamped with a separate mobile app that will include video, photos and ongoing conversations “with the people you love” that can be archived, Gundotra said.
Facebook, with more than 1.1 billion monthly active members, maintains a hefty lead in the social networking market. Google said Wednesday Google+ now has 190 million monthly active users, compared to 135 million at the end of 2012. The number swells to 390 million when Google includes those who have tied in activity through Gmail, YouTube or Google Play.
Here is a company video about the new Google+:
