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With over 170 million people who already upgraded their profiles to Google+, designing this social layer in a new light, one to measure up with the high aspirations of Google, became a necessity. And the much anticipated event took place Wednesday, on 11th of April.

According to Vic Gundotra, one of the main players behind the ambitious project, the goal of this big redesign was for users to “find it easier to use and nicer to look at”. All the efforts have therefore been directed in four main directions: navigation, conversations, hanging out and exploring.

More Effective Design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New options of personalizing your applications

 

Everyone already familiarized with Google+ remembers the static icons representing the applications, which were displayed on the top of the page. Now they are all included into a dynamic ribbon placed on the left side, allowing users to:

–          drag and drop the icons in order to establish their own order and have easier access on the applications they use most often

–          hide applications they no longer need by simply moving them on the “More” section

–          access a number of quick actions available for those apps by simply moving the mouse on top of them

Google makes no secret from its intentions of coming up with a “Next Big Feature” to be included on that flexible ribbon.

 

New chatting experiences

 chat

Sharing information with friends from regardless what circles was just a first goal of Google+. The next step, which we are all currently witnessing, is about successfully combining utility and beauty. Users’ experiences should be significantly improved with:

-videos and photos in full bleed format

-“conversation cards” to provide an overview of the conversations developed by friends

-an “activity drawer” designed to keep you updated with reactions that community has regarding the content you posted

All these have the purpose of supporting and encouraging Google+ users to share regardless what type of information.

 

Hanging out gets a new statute

The Hangouts feature is even more highlighted by receiving its own dedicated page where you should be able to:

-access a constantly updating list with invitations from friends on the applications or activities they consider to be the most interesting

-try both “on air” and public hangouts which will allow you to watch numerous live broadcasts and make new connections with other Google+ users

-view a top of the most popular Google+ hangouts available on what is called a “rotating billboard”

Because of the positive perspectives in terms of content discoverability that this new option provides, predictions with regards to future integrations of YouTube content have already been made.

 

Improved exploring experiences

 

The Google+ redesign intended to cover more than the three above mentioned improvements. Users can now adjust their profiles to include photos of larger dimensions and change the way their chat list will be displayed by choosing to have their friends listed front and center. And every novelty of the network will potentially become viral by being promoted on a new special “Explore” page.

 

Features such as the cover photo are said to have been inspired from the Facebook Timeline, yet the navigation ribbon fully customizable represents a real novelty in terms of social media mainstreaming. Echoes of the reactions that worldwide Google+ users have on these upgrades did not hesitate to show.