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Google+ Needs To Rethink Real Estate

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by

Matt
in ,

I’m really trying to get into using Google+ on a daily basis (by the way you can add me on G+.) I want to be in circles/follow/+1 the big names like Chris Brogan, Matt Cutts, and other people I really enjoy on Twitter.

But their updates take up way too much real estate!

I enjoy using Hootsuite as my Facebook/Twitter app. I get everything all in one neat package. Most importantly, it literally stuffs everything into a small display. Very useful for that 20-thousand foot view of what’s happening.

It’s what I need during a busy day, quick instant access to my news, so I can react in real-time and move quickly.

Compare The Real Estate

Here’s one of the recent posts from Chris that demonstrates the massive amount of space it’s taking up on my screen:

Google+ takes up too much real estate

And here’ss that very same update from Chris on Twitter/Hootsuite:

Wow!

744 pixels versus 54 pixels

Look how much more space I have in Hootsuite to quickly browse the social stream! Again, I don’t know about you, but I like that quick “mission control” overview of my incoming news – because damn – there’s a lot of it!

Maybe I’m Wrong?

I’m still trying to get all warm and fuzzy with it, but I do think it’s massively better than anything Google has released in a while.

During a busy day of doing what I do, reading Google+ is like reading a bunch of micro blogs all at once. And remember Chris, G+ is Not Your Blog!

Your thoughts?

Comments

7 responses to “Google+ Needs To Rethink Real Estate”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Matt:

    There is a huge difference in the streams, with Twitter being more condensed. But I’ve found that I like to take a sneak peek at the posts, photos, links whatever before committing to reading. And G+ gives me that chance. Twitter requires more clicking around and waiting – just to see if I’m interested.

    It does take time to adjust to this on Google+, which is by no means perfect. One key tip that’s helped me a lot is to use the J and K keys to navigate the stream. Beats the heck out of scrolling.

    And I’m still getting used to circles, but it took some time for me to curate things on Twitter too, so I’m trying to be patient and diligent.

    One thing I wish Google+ had was a one line title field at the top – something to encourage the brevity of Twitter right there at the outset. Then, you could even allow posts to collapse into a just titles view, making it more like Twitter (if you wanted that option).

    It’ll be interesting to see how this all develops….

    Tom

    Reply
    1. Matt Medeiros Avatar
      Matt Medeiros

      Dead on Tom. 

      Of course this thing is still such in infancy who are we to assume what will happen. I do see it as a very mature approach to Facebook meets Twitter even in this early beta stage. 

      Reply
      1. Benjamin Tigano Avatar
        Benjamin Tigano

        I agree

        Reply
  2. Jeff Golenski Avatar
    Jeff Golenski

    I was actually thinking about this last night as I was browsing Google +. This is especially frustrating on small mobile media devices such as the iPhone. Especially when you’re browsing your feed!

    Reply
    1. Matt Medeiros Avatar
      Matt Medeiros

      indeed it is! I hope they add some better UI soon

      Reply
  3. Benjamin Tigano Avatar
    Benjamin Tigano

    Sorry, about the last comment. I hit something after signing in to Google and then it posted, and I wasn’t able to edit. Anyways…

    I agree 100%, Matt. I think if they made the stream exactly like Twitter or Facebook, we’d all be saying “great, another Facebook/Twitter to have to manager.”

    And thanks for the heads up re: the J and K shortcut keys, Tom. News to me and very helpful!

    Ben

    Reply
    1. Matt Medeiros Avatar
      Matt Medeiros

      Yea I agree Ben. Great they are keeping it different, but I’m thinking maybe a “collapse” feature so the streams aren’t so tremendous!

      Reply

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