- Posts tagged Google
- Explore Google on posterous
Google Rant
Ok my wife is out at a work dinner; the kids are tucked up in bed…I’m going to take a deep breath and a long run up for this one…
<rant>
If you have been watching my tweets recently you will have seen my growing frustration with Google.
I have two Google accounts. One for me, one for HashBang.TV (note – check that out, it’s awesome. Honest!)
Have you tried managing Google Apps with multiple identities?
It totally sucks ass. How Google think they stand a chance in social networking and cloud-based apps if they can't even get the basics right is beyond me.
Strike #1 - Simultaneous account sign in
Gmail and Google calendar actually handle this ok, switching is seamless, but bring Google Doc’s to the party and it’s good night Vienna. You cannot switch between accounts. You have to sign out of all your Google identities and start over with the one you want to use at that point in time to access Google Doc’s.
If you multi task (heaven forbid) then you stand no chance – you always need access to the Google Doc’s account that you just signed out of. I spend minutes per day just logging in and out of Google Apps, what a great user experience – The Google App Toolbar sits there mocking me.
But this is just the start of my Google induced rage.
Strike #2 Google +
Get over it – only employees, people paid by Google, or people with no quality control are using it. It's a ghost ship sailing towards the Bermuda Triangle. Don’t take my word for it – check the list of the most popular people on Google+ and see who is actually active.
Check the Top 100 Google + accounts list here. Page 1 shows the top 25 accounts and an amazing THREE accounts out of the top 25 have circled more people than me, and I don’t use it, and I don’t have a PR firm doing it for me like Britney Spears, and this is the most and’s in a sentence ever…
Oh and how they are trying to pretend something interesting is happening there. Oh and how they ram it down your throat at every opportunity….
When Chris and I launched HashBang we needed a separate identity from our personal Google accounts for things like Google Analytics, AdSense, YouTube, Blogger etc. – having set all those up, Google virtually begged me setup a Google + account for the same HashBang Google account.
Three months pass, then I get the “sorry you are not using a real name email” – well stop pushing Google + accounts on people / companies and encouraging them to breach your own policies.
HashBang.TV Google+ account deleted.
End of… or so I thought.
Two minutes after deleting it and then signing back into the HashBang Google account – “Would you like to claim your Google + account – its awesome” (or words to that effect) – REALLY???
Strike 3 – Cookie Monster
Over the last 48 hours I discover I can now no longer access the Blogger account I stupidly picked to host the HashBang blog. I’m stuck in redirect hell.
I’ve deleted all one hundred and one cookies so graciously left in my machine by Google alone. I’ve used different browsers, I’ve used different machines. I’ve even tried with different operating systems. (ooh I broke my “and’s” record with “I’ve’s” in a sentence)
Well and truly shafted… Great way to try and start a business, when you can’t even update your own blog.
Seriously Google sort your shit out!
</rant>
…and relax
Interesting research on Android OS upgrades: Visualizing a Sad History of Support #google #android #mobile
Interesting work by Michael DeGusta tracking the lag on upgrading Android phones to the latest version of the OS, with commentary on the implications. Well worth checking out...
Locating the cash: Now Google charge for their Maps API #google #maps #api #developers #yam
Despite refusing to charge end users for their services, it seems Google are getting increasingly comfortable charging developers to use their APIs. Previously you only had to pay to use the Google Maps API if your site or app was charging users. Following Wednesdays announcement there is now a second trigger for charging, as Google has introduced throttling on the API. This follows on from Google introducing charging for their translation API back in August.
The charging structure will work like this. Up to 25,000 standard API calls, and up to 2,500 calls of the Styled Map feature per day will be free of charge. You can then purchase additional calls or license the Premier version of the API.
Pricing is around $4 for every additional 1,000 map loads, and a Premier license "starts at" $10,000 per year. This compares to the Bing Maps model of 125,000 sessions or 500,000 transactions per year for free, then upgrade to their Enterprise license, the pricing of which is not published. Its a "give us a call so we can talk" type of deal.
This move seems to confirm a significant strategic shift for Google.
It will be interesting to see how other location providers respond. Do they also attempt to cash in on location (like the Mobile Operators have long been criticised for doing) or do they attempt to steal market share from Google by changing their fees? It will be interesting to see how or if this spikes interest in the range of free alternatives like the BlueVia Location API, OpenStreetMap, and MapNik. I'm not sure if Fireeagle is still alive?
My other concern is I hope this move does not shift mobile app developers to purely relying on the phones GPS location, rather than using server side location look ups. Ewan over at Mobile Industry Review wrote an entertaining piece on the benefits of server side look up's here, which is worth a read.
What will you use?
Wanna a job at Google, make time for the interviews [infographic]
Thinking of getting a job at Google, make some time for the interviews...
Infographic by Jobvine Job Search
Google to start monetising analytics, but good luck searching for a price #google #yam
Following on from Google recently announcing they will charge developers to use their translation API, Google announced yesterday that they are now introducing a premium version of Google Analytics. Interestingly I found it impossible to find any pricing information. In fact it seems you have to talk to someone to get it. A little off for a web company!
In a smart move they kept the masses sweet by improving the free version to include real time data, but this is another move that signals a swing away from their original position of never charging the end user for using their services.
Weekly Wrap inc. #f8 #twitter #google #uncrunched #yam
This post is a wrap of this weeks stories in tech, social and mobile that caught my eye...
Facebook F8
The biggest event was of course the annual F8 Facebook conference.
New timeline profile view, and deeper interaction via new verb buttons were the highlight announcements. You can read about it here, here and the Spotify bit here.
F8 also inspired me to write my first ever tweet that anyone seems to have cared enough about to retweet it a whole bunch of times! If you know the developer hack, you can see my new Facebook timeline style profile page here.
Michael Arrington launches UNCRUNCHED
The fall out at TechCrunch continues with Michael Arrington launching his own site, UNCRUNCHED. You would have though he could have found a higher res photo ;-)
How to throw a REAL party
Call Scott Parker! Check out his recent Forbes cover story.
Google+ API
Lets hope finally exposing an API gives Google+ a shot in the arm, becuase frankly I think its the biggest pile of over hyped doo-doo since, er, Wave? Already a few services I use [Empire Avenue and Klout] have adopted the API, although judging from the results I'm not sure how useful the first version is.
CANT miss event in London
I hear a rumour that Jason Calacanis is the latest to sign up for this.
and to end...
Not one, but TWO shameless BlueVia plugs...
Firstly the rather exciting, some even called it seminal, news that Twitter has integrated into BlueVia's MMS API to allow O2 UK customers to upload photos into their Twitter timeline. Secondly if you are a developer in the UK, make sure you get involved with London Mobile Week. Over The Air 2011 kicks us off, and we are giving away £10,000 worth of free advertising spend as first prize. Yes we ARE that awesome!
Google LatLong: New 45° imagery available for 24 cities
Google now have pretty impressive photography taken at a 45 degree angle for a number of major cities.
Google translate API demand into cash #google #api #developers
Looks like Google listened to the feedback they got after they announced back in May they were going to shut down their popular translation API. A blog post from Google confirms it is back, as a paid for service.
Translation costs $20 per million (M) characters of text translated (or approximately $0.05/page, assuming 500 words/page). You can sign up online via the APIs console for usage up to 50 M chars/month.
Wow! Google acquires Motorola. Android less than 4 years old, Motorola 80 years old... #mobile #google
Wow! $12.5 billion in cash...
Now all three major "mobile ecosystems" have software, hardware and supply chain competance.
- Apple
- Nokia / Microsoft
- Android / Motorola
