Google Plus introduces games and swears that they won’t be annoying

By Caleb Garling August 11, 2011

Well that didn’t take very long. Not that anyone thought it would. Google announced today that it is rolling out social games to all of its Plus users.

For many people that announcement will induce a groan: “Not more Cityville updates!”

In order to alleviate those concerns, Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Engineering had the following to say: “We want to make playing games online just as fun, and just as meaningful, as playing in real life. That means giving you control over when you see games, how you play them and with whom you share your experiences. Games in Google+ are there when you want them and gone when you don’t.”

This means Plus will have information, scores and any games available only if you go to the Games page. “Your stream will remain focused on conversations with the people you care about,” Gundotra said.

Provided Google keeps games partitioned in this fashion, the difference is a likely relief to those that were exhausted with ads for Farmville and updates on people’s latest high scores. The Facebook newsfeed has become sacred territory for many users and polluting it with unwanted information has developed into a real sin.

Google also extended the invite to developers looking to create games on their new platform. They provide further information on the Google Plus developer blog

The Games tab is going to be rolling out slowly so don’t fret if it hasn’t appeared at the top of your Plus feed just yet. Considering how much money Facebook and social game giants like Zynga are making, it will soon.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Web
Google

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Social Media

5 social media networks that are still alive and kicking, but we don’t know why

unpopular social media sites that are still around unsplash

Do you remember tricking out your Myspace profile with purple flaming wallpaper and deciding which of your friends would make your top eight? Or, creating that super-secret circle in Google+? Were you one of those people sending a "yo" to everyone you knew, a few summers ago?

There are loads of social networks out there, with new ones popping up all the time -- each attempting to be the next big thing. The problem is that social media trends come and go, and popularity is never guaranteed. But there are a few sites that are hanging around way past their expiration dates. When Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat dominate the social scene, we wonder how these five particular social networks continue to hang on.

Mobile

European news agencies ask Facebook, Google to pay for content

google amp removing url

Nine of Europe’s largest press agencies are calling for internet giants like Facebook and Google to pay for news content used on its sites. The agencies, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), Germany's Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), and Britain’s Press Association made their plea in the French daily newspaper Le Monde.

The battle is the latest between publishers and social media platforms. In its letter, the agencies stated that while companies internet giants like Facebook, Google, and Snapchat reap 60-70 percent of advertising revenues on its platforms, while neither have a newsroom.

Social Media

Study: Social media bots aren’t just annoying, they’re used to sway opinions

social media moderation and ai apps on apple ipad

Social media bots may be behind a number of annoying comments in order to gain followers to sell a product but a recent study suggests bots are also being used on social media to sway political opinions. In the annual Freedom of the Net study, Freedom House found that at least 20 countries used political bots, while 30 paid human commentators and 16 created fake news stories. The study underlined a number of different misuses of social media tech, saying that in at least 18 countries, that misuse was centered around elections.

While commercial bots are designed to create more followers for a social media account, the study found that a number of fake social media profiles use an algorithm to negate critical voices. Like the annoying but less destructive commercial bots, these computer-driven accounts will retweet posts or share links to gain a larger reach than an actual person could.