Why Collections?


Why Collections?
We on the Google+ team often get asked why are you making this or that change? What’s the thinking behind product changes/features. To that end, thought I’d share my perspective on why Collections?…

Collections allows people to organize what they publish into multiple topics. These topics can be followed or unfollowed. This:

* helps readers to get more content with control they don’t have when just following people. many other social sites are “all or nothing” when it comes to following people.

* frees up content creators to publish more and not worry about overloading followers. we often hear concerns about “spamming my followers” with posts they might consider irrelevant.

* encourages content creators to post across multiple interests instead of focusing only on one topic. i.e. don’t just have to be the “deep sea photography person”

* gives content creators archiving abilities they long for. many publish as personal catalogs/journals and for recovery (get back to my content) reasons.

* content creators bemoan all their content disappearing “into the stream”, collections provide a way to give their posts re-newed life and permanence.

Hope that gives some sense of the thinking behind the Collections feature. Thanks~

G+ Web Preview Update July 20


G+ Web Preview Update July 20
We’re rolling out another update to our Google+ Web preview today with many fixes and some new frequently requested features:

* 182 bugs fixed
* 10 accessibility issues addressed
* edit your introduction in About Me
* see related Collections on post pages
* view map in info panel for images with location
* new presentation for original comments on re-shared posts

As always, please keep sending us your ideas/issues using the Send Feedback menu item.
Thanks~

G+ Android Update 8.2 & 8.3

G+ Android Update 8.2 & 8.3
As we continue to work on bigger re-writes to help make development on Google+ Android faster in the future, our Android app releases will be lighter on features and focus primarily on fixing issues. Two weeks ago we rolled out version 8.2.0 of the G+ Android app and today we’re rolling out version 8.3.0. Between them:

* 84 bug fixes
* 10 accessibility issues addressed

As always, please send us your ideas/issues using our Send Feedback menu item as that’s the best way to ensure we’ll see them. Thanks~

G+ iOS Update 5.8.0


G+ iOS Update 5.8.0
Our seventh Google+ iOS app update of the year is rolling out to Apple’s App Store starting today. This release has mostly focused on prep for upcoming features but also includes the following fixes:

* 16 bugs fixed
* Faster access to share recent photos
* Hide header & navigation when scrolling on posts
* Much faster photo picker for people with thousands of photos on their phone

As always, please send us your ideas/issues using our Send Feedback menu item in the app as that’s the best way to make sure we see them. Thanks~

G+ Web Preview Update June 28


G+ Web Preview Update June 28
We’re putting down our cupcakes (https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LukeWroblewski/posts/eRyqMu5RVWy) for a minute to launch a number of fixes and a some new features on our Google+ Web preview:

* 94 bugs fixed
* 2 accessibility issues addressed
* Follower counts visible on your Collections
* Community owner & moderator badges on comments
* And if you own 12 or more Communities, we’ll show you the four most recently visited ones on top

As always, please keep sending us your ideas/issues using the Send Feedback menu item.
Thanks~

6 Months of Google+ Updates


6 Months of Google+ Updates
Six months ago, we launched an all-new version of Google+ on iOS, a big update to our Android app, and a preview of our new experience Web. At that time (https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LukeWroblewski/posts/jJvNS3mwxyv) I mentioned: “While this is an exciting new beginning for us, we’re definitely not done yet.”

Since then we’ve fixed 4,149 bugs, addressed 253 accessibility issues, and launched 19 Web updates, 12 Android app updates, and 7 iOS app updates. Thanks to all of you for the feedback you sent, which helped guide us through all these launches.

While I’m sure you have additional fixes/issues that we need to address next, I just wanted to pause for a moment and thank our teams (and you!) for all the help over the past six months.

So… thanks~

iOS Update 1.0.2


iOS Update 1.0.2
Today we’re rolling out another update to the Spaces iOS app. Like our Android release last week, most of the work this time was spent on clean-up & fixes from our initial launch but we also added a few feature improvements as well:

* 34 bugs fixed
* Improved font sizing & spacing
* Quick photos picker now shows all photos
* Full photo picker allows you to set order of photos
* Updated space creation process
* Fixed WhatsApp sharing issue

More updates are on the way for Spaces so please keep sending us your ideas/issues using the Send Feedback menu item in the app.
Thanks~

What You Missed


What You Missed
We recently rolled out a new feature for Google+ on Android, iOS, and our new Web preview. “What You Missed” finds great older posts that you haven’t seen yet and shows them in your Home stream with a clear “What you Missed” label, so you don’t miss out on content you’ll love.

As with every new feature, please keep sending us your ideas/issues using the Send Feedback menu item in any of our apps.
Thanks~

Android Update 1.1


Android Update 1.1
We just rolled out a new update for the Spaces Android app. Most of the work was clean-up & fixes from our initial launch but we also addressed some frequent feedback as well:

* 25 bugs fixed
* Added right to left language support
* Made Create Space action more visible
* Reduced vibrations from multiple notifications when you turn on your phone
* Reduced app size (APK) 20% for low resolution devices
* Fixed crash when posting too many stickers
* Addressed issue where some messages could get lost

We’ve got a steady stream of updates on the way for Spaces so please keep sending us your ideas/issues using the Send Feedback menu item in the app.
Thanks~