Tag Archives: Google Plus

Find exactly what you want in Google+ with new search options and filters

Today we’re rolling out a few updates to Google+ to help your users find the content they’re looking for. From an updated look of the search interface to search suggestions and domain-only filters, these new experiences can make users confident that the content they see is the content they want. Read on for more information.

Suggested and recent searches before users start typing
Before a user begins typing in the search box, we'll show them Communities they may be looking for, as well as recent terms they've searched.



Improved Autocomplete
As the user types, autocomplete results will be shown from Topics, Collections, Communities, and People/Pages.



Filter results by content type using the new tabbed interface
On the search results page, users can now filter content by five categories: “All,” “Posts,” “Communities,” “Collections,” and “People & Pages.”



A popular ask from admins, the “Posts” tab allows users to sort results by new/top posts, as well as by the source of the post (from just you, from people you follow, or from everyone).



Restrict search results and home stream to show only content from within your domain
While offering a mix of external and domain-restricted content can be a valuable aspect of Google+, showing content from people outside of your domain (especially those sourced from users’ personal contacts) can lead to user confusion. That’s why we’re introducing the ability to toggle between showing domain-only content vs. public content in search suggestions, search results, and the Google+ home stream. This feature is currently available on the web only.



With this toggle, users can enjoy the benefits of mixed content while also being able to focus on company-specific info when appropriate. Filtering out external content can increase users’ confidence that they won’t accidentally leak information by commenting on externally visible posts.

We hope that this new experience will make it easier for your users to locate and engage with their Google+ content and Communities.


Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information:
Help Center

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
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Adding new Google+ metrics to the Admin console and Reports API to better track usage and adoption at the user level

From sharing updates with teams to offering advice between offices, more and more organizations are adopting Google+ to transform the way they work. In April of this year, we added aggregated Google+ user activity to the Admin console and Reports API, allowing you to track user signups, posts and comments created, and more. Today, we’re bringing you even more usage reporting so that you can better understand Google+ adoption and engagement in your organization.

Audit Google+ user activity for your organization

To help you get a better sense of the total usage of the product within your organization, we’ve added Google+ user activity data to the auditing section of the Admin console, as well as to the Reports API.

Now, G Suite admins will be able to see when the following events are performed in Google+ in their organization right in the audit logs:

  • Post created
  • Post edited
  • Post deleted
  • Comment created
  • Comment edited
  • Comment deleted
  • +1 added to a post
  • +1 added to a comment
  • +1 removed from a post
  • +1 removed from a comment
  • Poll vote added
  • Poll vote removed


    Better understand how your users are engaging with Google+ and see which users are most active

    Going forward, you can also track the following metrics in the apps usage activity report and aggregate reports in the Admin console or via the Reports API:

    • Number of activities performed per day by each individual user
    • Number of communities where at least one of the community owners is within your domain
    • Number of collections within your organization

    These metrics, as well as user-level metrics for all G Suite apps, can now also be viewed for a chosen date in the past.

    In the future, we’ll continue to bring even more tools to help you manage Google+ usage within your organization. We’re always working to provide admins with the visibility they need, so please let us know what you think and stay tuned for more updates.

    Launch Details
    Release track:
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Editions:
    Available to all G Suite editions

    Rollout pace:
    Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    Admins only

    Action:
    Admin action suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Help Center: Google+ audit log
    Help Center: Apps usage activity reports
    Help Center: Aggregate reports
    Help Center: Account activity reports
    Help Center: Security reports

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    Invite all the right people to your Communities all at once

    (Cross-posted from the Google+ Product and Feature Updates Collection)

    Communities are a great way for groups of people to share around a topic. But when you’re creating a Community for a group you’re a part of, like a book club, parent-teacher association, or work team, the last thing you want to have to do is invite each member one-by-one.

    Since so many groups already have a way to get ahold of one another, whether that’s through email, chat, a newsletter or something else, we’ve created a new Community invite link so you can invite all the right people at once.

     With the Community invite link, Community owners and moderators can share an invite link with their group however they choose. People with the link will be able to directly join both private and ask-to-join public Communities, and anyone who doesn’t have a Google account or Google+ profile will be able to create one along the way. Communities that are restricted to a given G Suite organization will continue to only be accessible to members of that organization.

    If something changes, you can easily disable a shared link or generate a new one at any time. To share an invite link to your Community, just open the invite menu on Google+ web, turn on the “Allow invites by link” option, and grab the link that appears.

    Launch Details

    Release track:
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Editions:
    Available to all G Suite editions

    Rollout pace:
    Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    Admins only

    Action:
    Admin action suggested/FYI


    Launch release calendar
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    Discover more of the things you’re into with Topics on Google+

    (Cross-posted from the Google+ Keyword blog)

    By Anna Kiyantseva, Product Manager, Google+

    Millions of people use Google+ to connect around the things they’re interested in. To help you sort through the many Collections and Communities where people share, we’ve created a new feature called Topics. With Topics, you’ll see a high-quality stream of Collections, Communities and people related to things we think you’ll be interested in.


    Today, there are already hundreds of Topics available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, covering everything from black-and-white photography to hiking and camping. So whether you’ve recently discovered the wonders of woodworking, love gardening, or can’t get enough of street photography, there’s a stream of unique and interesting stuff waiting for you on Google+.

    To see the recommended Topics, head to your home stream and look for the “Topics to explore” cards. Topics will be rolling out over the next day or so, so don’t worry if you don’t see any suggestions right away.

    Hope you enjoy it!


    Launch Details
    Release track:  
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Editions:
    Available to all G Suite editions

    Rollout pace: 
    Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact: 
    All end users

    Action:
    Change management suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Google+ Keyword Blog


    Launch release calendar
    Launch detail categories
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    Track Google+ adoption levels at your organization with new usage metrics in the Admin console and the Reporting API

    One of the most compelling reasons to adopt Google+ is its power to connect and engage your workforce. Having a more engaged workforce increases retention and innovation within an organization and leads to more productivity. Since announcing that Google+ is now a core G Suite service last September, we’ve heard that you’d like better reporting on Google+ adoption and engagement throughout your organization. In response, we’re taking the first step by adding new enterprise-focused Google+ usage reporting in the Admin console and the Reporting APIs. With this change, you’ll now be able to look up:

    • Daily active Google+ users
    • Weekly active Google+ users
    • Monthly active Google+ users
    • Number of new users
    • Number of new posts
    • Number of new comments
    • Number of new +1s
    • Number of posts viewed
    • Number of posts reshared



    We’re excited for this first launch of enterprise reporting metrics for G+, and look forward to adding even more improvements, like user-level reports, later this year. Please let us know how you’re using them and what else you’d like to see through the Feedback options in the Admin console.

    Launch Details
    Release track:
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Editions:
    Available to all G Suite editions

    Rollout pace:
    Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    Admins only

    Action:
    Admin action suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Help Center: Aggregate reports


    Launch release calendar
    Launch detail categories
    Get these product update alerts by email
    Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

    Google+ is now a core Google Apps for Work service

    Starting today, Google+ is now a core Google Apps for Work service when used within a domain, and will be included in existing Google Apps agreements for most customers. This means that Google+ will have the same technical support and service level commitments as any other core service, like Gmail or Google Drive.

    Going forward, domains using Google+ will receive the following benefits:


    To provide a service that is consistent with the protections of our Google Apps agreement, the following changes will affect your domain’s current use of Google+:

    • All web users on a computer will be automatically upgraded to the latest version of Google+, and will no longer have the option to switch back to the "classic" version
    • Native mobile app versions of Google+ released prior to today’s launch will no longer be fully supported, so users should ensure they have upgraded to the latest versions.

    Engaging people is key to innovation, and many Google Apps for Work domains have found Google+ to be an invaluable tool that helps drive active engagement and cultivate innovative ideas from all levels of the organization. By making Google+ the newest core service for Google Apps, Google+ will now provide the support and guaranteed SLAs that businesses need.

    Notes:

    Launch Details
    Release track:
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Rollout pace:
    Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    All end-users for domains with Google+ enabled

    Action:
    Change management suggested

    More Information
    Recommended for admins:
    Recommended for users:

    Collaborate and communicate more effectively with the new Google+

    From keeping remote workers in the loop to sharing information across teams, businesses are using Google+ to collaborate and communicate more effectively. As announced last week, today the new version of Google+ will become the default option on web for Google Apps users of Google+. The new experience makes it easier to focus on the features our Apps customers tell us they find the most useful, including a new home page to quickly browse through content, Communities that make it easy to collaborate around ideas and Collections that enable organizations to follow and discuss topics of interest.

    If desired, users will still be able to use the classic Google+ interface by clicking on the "Back to classic Google+" link in the bottom left-hand corner. In the coming weeks, with the launch of Google+ as a core Google Apps service, Google Apps customers will no longer have the ability to revert back to the classic Google+ interface.

    Launch Details 
    Release track:
    New version of Google+ launching as the default experience to both Rapid release and Scheduled release today. In the coming weeks, the ability to revert back to the classic Google+ interface will no longer be available with the launch of Google+ as a core Google Apps service. Monitor the Google Apps release calendar for a specific launch date to be added soon. 

    Rollout pace:
    Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    All end-users for domains with Google+ enabled

    Action: 
    Change management suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Learning Center


    Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

    Launch release calendar
    Launch detail categories
    Get these product update alerts by email
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    New metrics on Hangouts and changes to Google+ activity metrics

    We are pleased to announce that we are adding new Hangouts metrics to the Reports API (part of the Admin SDK). These new metrics can be used to track video calls by platform. The new metrics that are being added are listed below:

    • gplus.num_video_calls_android
    • gplus.num_video_calls_cfm
    • gplus.num_video_calls_ios
    • gplus.num_video_calls_web
    • gplus.total_video_call_minutes_android
    • gplus.total_video_call_minutes_cfm
    • gplus.total_video_call_minutes_ios
    • gplus.total_video_call_minutes_web
    • gplus.num_video_conferences_android
    • gplus.num_video_conferences_cfm
    • gplus.num_video_conferences_ios
    • gplus.num_video_conferences_mobile
    • gplus.num_video_conferences_web

    In addition, Apps admins may notice a change in numbers for Google+ active users. A number of Google+ components and integrations (Hangouts, YouTube Comments, and Photos, for example) have been unbundled from the core Google+ product. The new metrics reflect users of Google+ only. Google+ activity metrics that are impacted with this change are below:
    • gplus.num_1day_active_users
    • gplus.num_7day_active_users
    • gplus.num_30day_active_users
    The above changes will be rolled out starting today to all Google Apps domains. To find out more on these new metrics, check our updated developer documentation.


    Launch Details
    Release track:
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Rollout pace:
    Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    All end users

    Action:
    Change management suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Google Apps Admin SDK
    Updated Developer Documentation

    Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

    Launch release calendar
    Launch detail categories
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    Create or delete Google+ profiles for multiple employees at once

    In the Admin console today, you can create Google+ profiles for employees in your domain—either one by one or across an entire organizational unit (OU). Until now, however, if you needed to create profiles for multiple individuals or only a portion of an OU, that process was tedious and lengthy. And if you needed to delete profiles, no tool existed. To save you valuable time and to give you greater control over your employees’ information, we’re now launching the ability to create and delete Google+ profiles for several employees at once.

    Simply visit Apps > Additional Google services > Google+ > Profiles in the Admin console, and select all of the users for whom you want to create profiles (or whose profiles you want to delete).


    In any profile you create, all information—except the individual’s name, picture, and tagline—will remain private until that user takes action to make it public. It’s important to note that you will not be able create a profile for any user who already has a public Gmail picture or who has uploaded photos to Picasa. Just as is the case today, those users will need to create their own Google+ profiles manually.

    If you delete profiles for certain users, some of their content will also be deleted, while some of their content will remain. For more specific details, carefully review the summary of terms that appears in the Admin console before you complete this process.

    *Please note that the bulk creation feature is not available to K–12 Google for Education customers.

    Launch Details
    Release track:
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

    Rollout pace:
    Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    Admins only

    Action:
    Admin action suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Help Center: Manage Google+ profiles

    Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

    Launch release calendar
    Launch detail categories
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    Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

    A simpler, better Google+

    Today we’re rolling out a few updates to Google+ that make it easier to focus on the features our Apps customers tell us they find the most useful. There’s a new homestream to quickly browse through content, Communities that make it easy to safely share ideas and Collections that enable organizations to curate their work and keep it in one easy-to-find place. 

    The fully redesigned homestream is built to be fast and simple. The new design makes it easier to use whether you’re at your desk browsing through posts or sharing an update on the go from a smaller mobile device screen. 

    Domain-restricted Communities are a popular way for organizations to share content and ideas amongst teammates, with the peace of mind that they’ll stay private. We’ve already seen how a global fashion brand uses Communities to inspire conversation about products and branding among employees across the world and how a Japanese startup is keeping their staff up-to-date as they build a vaccine.

    Collections let you keep all your related content in one spot and make it easier to discover and browse. For example, earlier this year we dedicated a week on the Google for Work G+ page to our awesome System Admins. In order to keep all that content together, we put it into a Collection. 
    G+_Final_Animation.gif
    For more information on the launch check out the Official Google Blog. The new-look Google+ is available on the web today and is coming to iOS and Android later this week.

    Launch Details
    Release track:  
    Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release today on the web and on iOS and Android later this week

    Rollout pace: 
    Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

    Impact:
    All end users

    Action:
    Change management suggested/FYI

    More Information
    Help Center
    Official Google blog post


    Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

    Launch release calendar
    Launch detail categories
    Get these product update alerts by email
    Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates