Google+ iPhone app goes live
Google+, the nascent social network from the folks at Mountain View, has finally arrived on the iPhone, in the form of a free app called G+. Judging by the screenshots, the software looks like a stripped down, more vertical version of the Web-based Google+. The Circles and the Sparks are all there. You can download the app here.
Over at TechCrunch, Erick Schonfeld is reporting that G+ got off to a bit of a rocky start. Apparently, the first iteration of the app was buggy enough that Google was forced to issue an update, which cleared things up – mostly. "After downloading the update, I couldn’t sign in until I powered down my iPhone and started again," Schonfeld wrote. "But now the app is much more stable and I can actually try it out."
Google+ received a mild reception from critics when it was first released, but millions of users have signed up in recent weeks, boosting hopes among tech bloggers and journalists that we could eventually see a real horse race between Facebook and Google.
"Until now, Facebook and Twitter have been the Dominant Duo of social networking," David Pogue of the New York Times wrote last week. "But Google’s less sprawling, more video-centric, better-controlled new service is already too good to ignore.... Now it’s the Dominant Duo ...+1."
In related news, Google+ is the target of a few carefully-worded jabs from Jeff Weiner, the CEO of business-minded social network LinkedIn. Speaking at an event in California, Weiner asserted that "nobody has any free time. Unlike social platforms and TV, which can co-exist, you don't see people using Twitter while they're using Facebook, or using Facebook while they're using LinkedIn," Weiner said, according to Business Insider.
"You introduce Google+... where am I going to spend that next minute or hour of my discretionary time?" he added. "I have no more time." Well, sure: In these hectic digital days, time is certainly at a premium. But Weiner seems to have ignored the fact that people use different social networks for different things – Twitter for sharing links or brief thoughts, Facebook for connecting with old pals, LinkedIn for keeping up with business acquaintances.
Right? Drop us a line – we're listening.
