Welcome to the Google+ Forum, an enthusiast site dedicated to all things Google+. Our goal with this site is to be a community aimed at helping you make the most of the Google+ Platform. To do so we have topics on all the following Google+ topics: Google+ Help, Google+ Privacy Discussions, Google+ Invites and a Google+ General Discussion area that covers topics not covered by our more specific areas. If your looking to get the most out of Google+ we feel confident that we can help you.

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Be sure to check out all the Google+ News below as well! Thanks and enjoy!

The Google+ app for Android just received an update, to Version 2.5.0.329322. This small update brings some interesting new features along with a few bug fixes: support for hashtags, improved sharing support for 3rd party apps. Slowly but surely it looks like Google+ is growing and evolving. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to pose a serious challenge to Facebook. Share your thoughts.

Source: TalkAndroid

According to statements from Google+ Product Manager Punit Soni, made during a Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Google is planning on combining their various gaming platforms, including Google+ Games, into a single unified gaming platform they will call simply, Google Games. He said,

“By next year, we will not be here talking about Google+ Games, Chrome Web Store games, Games for Native Client and Android games. We will be talking about Google games.”

Mr. Soni further added, “It was very clear games was one of the first things we would put up there on Google+. Games bring people together. They are an important part of how users interact online. Game developers push boundaries, and games are fun.”

This new direction focuses even further on Google's plans to create a Google branded ecosystem to assist developers but also to bring consumers together under one social platform, namely Google+. This ties hand in hand with Google's recent announcement in which they changed the name of the Android Market to the Google Play Store. Here's a quote from the TalkAndroid article with some more details,

Doing this will give developers a much larger audience to target, making developing for Google more lucrative. Technically, this will entail using technologies such as HTML5 and Google Chrome Native Client, which enables browser games to take advantage of 3D graphics hardware, for easier and higher performing cross-platform compatibility.

Google+ will serve as the social layer supporting and helping games get noticed. With already more than 100 million active monthly users spending more than one hour a day on the site, Google+ will certainly attract gaming companies. Game developers are excited to have a Facebook alternative, but want Google to provide more promotional opportunities for their games. Google is starting to do this already with a new notification system to promote games to your Google+ circles.

This is a brilliant move on Google's part. Tying everything together under a unified ecosystem will help each of the currently disparate products flourish. It makes marketing everything easier, and it showcases products and services to people that might not have seen them otherwise.

Source: ... [Read More]

The Google+ Android app just received a new update that adds a few new features. The Google engineers have added a "What's Hot" section, some massive performance improvements and even more. Here's a list from the changelog:

• Massive performance improvements across the app
• What’s Hot!
• View who +1′d a post or comment
• Stream posts shortened to fit more per scroll
• Infinite photos feed in ‘From your circles’
• Stream no longer jumps to the top for an automatic refresh

You can check some of them out by swiping away from the “All Circles” section. Sound off your thoughts on these new features.

Source: DroidMatters

Google+ will now be opening their doors to teens, thanks to the new privacy controls they built-in to the service. Google+ VP Bradley Horowitz shared recently that Google+ will now allow anyone who is old enough to get a Google account. In most countries this equates to the age of about 13. Here's a quote from the Engadget article with some more details regarding the new privacy controls that help make this possible,

This expansion also introduces a new set of privacy controls for younger users, who will be warned every time they try to publish a public post, and can only be contacted by those in their immediate circles. If a teen joins a Hangout, moreover, he or she will only be able to receive audio and video from those in his or her circles.

The fact that Google decided to restrict usage until they had ironed out these privacy controls is worthy of respect. It's commendable that they were taking the safety of kids into concern for their service. Share your thoughts.

Source: Engadget

For folks that were wanting to "customize" the moniker by which they travel the Google+ waves, your wish has come true. Google just announced that they have included the ability to use nicknames and other established identities to the Google+ sign-up/profile pages. Here's a quote with some details followed by some links with some more details on the rules they laid forth on the new naming conventions:

Nicknames and Names in Another Script

Over the next week, we’ll be adding support for alternate names – be they nicknames, maiden names, or names in another script – alongside your common name. This name will show up on your Google+ profile and in the hovercards which appear over your name. In the next few weeks, we’ll be displaying it more broadly as part of your name in other areas of Google+ as well. So if you’re Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Jane Doe (Smith), or सौरभ शर्मा (Saurabh Sharma), you can now communicate your identity the way you want to.

To add an alternate name, go to your Google+ profile, click Edit Profile, select your name and click on “More options.” (See attached photos)

It’s important to remember that when you change your name in Google+, you’re changing it across all services that require a Google Profile.

Other Established Identities

On Google+, we try to flag names which don’t represent individuals, such as businesses or abstract ideas which should be +Pages. Sometimes we get this wrong, so starting today we’re updating our policies and processes to broaden support for established pseudonyms, from +trench coat to +Madonna.

If we flag the name you intend to use, you can provide us with information to help confirm your established identity. This might include:

- References to an established identity offline in print media, news articles, etc
- Scanned official documentation, such as a driver’s license
- Proof of an established identity online with a meaningful following

We’ll review the information and typically get back to you within a few days. We may also ask for further information, such as proof that you control a website you reference. While a name change is under review, your old name will continue to be displayed. For new accounts without an old name, your profile will be in a non-public, read-only state during the review. Either way, you'll be able to see the status of your review by going to your

... [Read More]

The Google+ Mobile Site just added a couple of new features to their repertoire with a new update. The new features are:

• “What’s Hot” stream = you can check out the most interesting content being shared on Google+ with a quick flick... you just swipe to the right of your Circles stream.
• The ability to see who +1′d a post = to see who +1′d a post, just click on the +1 count underneath the post

These are pretty nifty features they added. Supposedly, they plan on having the same features for the Google+ App very soon too.

Source: TalkAndroid and Google+ - Google+ Mobile

It would seem that the Google engineers are getting extra creative. They just shared they will be releasing a GoogleMaps based game that will be coming to Google+ very soon. The game is a marble-maze style game that uses the reality of GoogleMaps as its "playground". Here's a quote from the TalkAndroid article with some more details:

The game is based off a unique technology created by the Google Maps development team. The technology— called WebGL– features a unique 3D engine powering the graphics. What’s special about the technology is it can create 3D web graphics you can see without having to install additional drivers or software.

You can check out the promo video of the game above. What do you guys think?

Source: TalkAndroid