CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-25 16:29:00 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Good weekend reading, in the form of Steven Johnson's retort:

Learning From Los Gatos
Why Silicon Valley is not the second coming of the Gilded Age.
https://medium.com/the-peer-society/410c644cebe4

... to George Packer's new New Yorker piece:

Change the world
Silicon Valley transfers its slogans—and its money—to the realm of politics.
http://m.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/05/27/130527fa_fact_packer

And a comment I saw in response to Johnson's suggestion that more companies should share revenue/equity with employees:

"One thing Johnson seems to miss is that most companies couldn't afford to compensate workers like valley co's do. The simple reason is that internet/software businesses have really high revenue per employee. Compare that to a consulting company, or any firm that charges basedon ... more »

2013-05-25 04:22:50 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Banksy Coke Ad

That Banksy Coke ad was actually from a letter he wrote a while ago and then made into a coke ad by an Italian artist

2013-05-24 18:58:27 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 8 +1s)

This almost seems worth being struck by lightning for.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtenberg_figure

2013-05-24 16:56:58 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

2013-05-23 20:27:44 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Not only can you check out the 8 or so areas that the editors have picked out for you, but you can move the map all over the world and see a satellite view time lapse of what has changed. Check out your home town!

2013-05-22 16:48:33 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Amen, brother.

2013-05-21 05:09:48 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 29 +1s)

A couple of photos from my ride home tonight. #autoawesome

https://www.strava.com/activities/55419078

2013-05-20 17:00:59 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Here's why Vic couldn't sleep last night!  A fresh new Google+ Android build that incorporates all of last week's goodness... and more.   Enjoy.

#googleplusupdate

edit 9:52am PST

For the sake of clarity - the new Android app will install on modern versions of Android (Froyo and above) with the advanced image editing features available on Ice Cream Sandwich and above.  Rollout in progress...

2013-05-19 05:04:42 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 29 +1s)

I rode most of the way up and now I'm waiting for the pros to race by. The crowds on the side of the roads are amazing: wall to wall people and bikes, race caravan cars zooming by, jovial atmosphere, and perfect weather. #tourofcalifornia

https://www.strava.com/activities/54944012

2013-05-18 00:03:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Added photos to Google + Design Happier Hour #io13.

2013-05-17 14:12:24 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

Bill Gates is like a supervillain in reverse.

2013-05-17 04:11:46 (0 comments, 5 reshares, 9 +1s)

*Getting started with #AutoEnhance  and #AutoAwesome *

Many of you have been asking, "How do I apply Auto Enhance and Auto Awesome to my photos?" The good news is, all you have to do is upload some new pictures, and we'll do both automatically: 

- To review Google's automatic enhancements, just open a newly-uploaded photo in the desktop lightbox
- Click the new "Enhanced" button to toggle between your original, and Google's enhancements
- If you like the changes, keep them. Otherwise, just uncheck "Auto Enhance" from the More menu
- You can also turn off the feature completely in settings: google.com/settings/plus

It's the same story with Auto Awesome. Just upload some new pics, and we'll get to work:

- Visit your Photos page (plus.google.com/photos), and look for one the five Awesome icons ont... more »

2013-05-17 00:06:30 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 18 +1s)

Making of "Om nom nom".  Now that +Josh Haftel is famous from his debut appearance at the I/O keynote, here's it being captured by +Vincent Mo.

2013-05-16 23:43:48 (1 comments, 9 reshares, 14 +1s)

Another article about the evolution of Google design where +Matias Duarte and +Fred Gilbert speak eloquently about our design thinking and culture, specifically on the topic of index card-like UI elements on a contrasting background as a way to group, organize, and deal with information. One thing +matt buchanan might be interested in is that the use of "cards" at Google dates back much further than Google Now (2012) but to the original Gmail user interface (2004) (hello out there, +Kevin Fox!).

I will say that I much prefer our contemporary, crisply square cards, but nevertheless a rose is a rose. This pattern was then adopted by Google Groups (2006) and from there... I'd need to do more research :) Anyways, I thought it was worth mentioning and adding to the lively discussion around Google and user interface design in general.
... more »

2013-05-16 22:29:32 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Six months of data showing when and where cell phone thefts occur in San Francisco. Related article: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9239107/Smartphones_driving_violent_crime_across_U.S.?taxonomyId=164&pageNumber=1

2013-05-16 21:38:00 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

My photos from #io13  yesterday.

2013-05-16 19:44:08 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

This is pretty dam amazing. Via +Todd Bogdog 

2013-05-15 23:25:18 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with +Om Malik and discuss the new G+ design. Thank you Om!

2013-05-15 23:18:36 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 15 +1s)

This resonates deeply with me. There much that I love about Instagram but the destructive filters make me sad.

"Where Instagram makes your bad photos look purposefully worse, Google now makes your bad photos look purposefully better!"

Via +Amar Gandhi

2013-05-15 23:04:33 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

As today's #io13 announcements showed, it's a great time to be a designer at Google.

Via +Matias Duarte and quotes by G+ UX Director +Fred Gilbert

2013-05-15 21:34:59 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Get the new Google Hangouts app for your iPhone and iPad so you can chat and video call with your friends for free. I'm so excited to be able to share this with all of you. Big congrats to the team.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hangouts/id643496868

2013-05-15 19:13:30 (11 comments, 11 reshares, 27 +1s)

Get the new Google Hangouts app for your iPhone and iPad so you can chat and video call with your friends for free. I'm so excited to be able to share this with all of you. Big congrats to the team.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hangouts/id643496868

2013-05-15 19:04:26 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 27 +1s)

We just introduced the new Google+! Enjoy the details below.
#googlepluslove

2013-05-15 03:23:18 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 6 +1s)

2013-05-14 04:26:28 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Yup: this.

2013-05-14 02:53:21 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Time to nerd-out: I'm really excited to be speaking at Google I/O on Friday morning – A pragmatic guide to design for engineers. I'll leave lots of time for questions. See you there!

2013-05-12 20:55:06 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Fez pie chart

2013-05-11 23:55:45 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 22 +1s)

The world loves Richard Feynman. Richard Feynman is dead.

Richard Feynman would have turned 95 today. My favorite Feynman story is from his time at Los Alamos. As he was working on the Manhattan Project. He would spend his free time picking locks to alleviate his boredom. After he discovers a hole in the wall of the top-security compound one day, he would walk in through the front gate, go out through the hole, then walk in again through the front gate. After a few times doing this, he almost got himself arrested by the MPs.

The world doesn't know his address, but he'll be getting plenty of these kinds of tributes today.

In June of 1945, Arline Feynman — high-school sweetheart and wife of the hugely influential physicist, Richard Feynman — passed away after succumbing to tuberculosis. She was 25-years-old. 16 months later, in October of 1946, Richardwrot... more »

2013-05-11 20:04:28 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Dude drives up in a 911 Carrera S, gets out of the car, and is wearing a Mercedes star trucker hat (among other choice garments*).

Judge for yourself.

* Madras plaid shorts, shiny North Face down jacket, and mirrored aviator glasses.

2013-05-11 18:34:29 (2 comments, 6 reshares, 7 +1s)

So here's a fun little historical episode for a Saturday morning: On September 9, 1942, Japan bombed the continental United States. They bombed a forest with the hope of starting a devastating forest fire. Unfortunately for them, they targeted the Pacific Northwest where forests are far too damp to catch fire. 

It's a pretty brilliant story! 

http://www.dvice.com/2013-5-8/little-known-wwii-bombing-brookings-oregon

2013-05-11 02:37:40 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

I can't help rooting for short people in a bball game - 5'7 Nate Robinson blocks LeBron James http://sbn.to/12n4G2H  :-)

2013-05-10 22:13:34 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 15 +1s)

+Boston Magazine just put out a profile of my sister and roller derby star, +Jessica Lider. I love my sister for her pursuit of what makes her happy and for being a strong role model for her students. If you have a chance to attend a roller derby match in Boston or wherever you live, I highly recommend it.

2013-05-15 14:12:40 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 34 +1s)

8 years of sharing SF2G with my coworkers on Bike To Work Day! Check out the photos from this year:

2013-05-15 14:03:09 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 19 +1s)

Bike To Work Day! #sf2g #btwd

2013-05-09 05:32:39 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Learn about cool urban projects in and around San Francisco. Check out http://goodctzn.com and follow +GoodCTZN 

2013-05-09 02:34:07 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Come join members of the Google+ Design team for a casual meet and greet — with drinks and good times.

The presenters and mentors from the Get Unstuck: Gamestorming Not Brainstorming [1] session at Google I/O 2013 will be on hand to continue the conversation and get more acquainted.

This event is strictly 21+, as Local Edition will be serving up punch and other adult beverages so do bring ID!

Tickets are limited, so make sure to RSVP on Eventbrite early: http://googleplusdesign.eventbrite.com/

[1] https://developers.google.com/events/io/sessions/419755974

2013-05-08 23:39:59 (0 comments, 22 reshares, 11 +1s)

The best thing you'll see all day. #visualization #interactive

Via +Chris Wiggins

2013-05-08 14:05:44 (1 comments, 4 reshares, 13 +1s)

ok this is trippy and awesome - bullet time stop motion light painting

2013-05-08 07:40:07 (5 comments, 17 reshares, 18 +1s)

I miss DFW and try to remember the lessons of the "This Is Water" speech and my "education" every day. Even though this is an excerpt of the full speech, it is well worth watching if you've never heard it.

Full audio in two parts: This is Water - Part 1 & This is Water - Part 2
Full text: http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/david-foster-wallace-in-his-own-words

Via +Jon Wiley 

2013-05-07 23:37:22 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Hey iOS developers, we’ve heard your feedback and updated the Google+ iOS SDK.  This version simplifies the SDK integration with new framework files and resource bundles, and reduces the number of imports.  It also includes a few minor bug fixes.

Get started integrating Google+ with your iOS app: http://goo.gl/wlcli
Or upgrade your existing app: http://goo.gl/zfVGo

2013-05-07 21:52:59 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Some of these are pretty great. Wonder why we haven't seen the web analog of these types of compilations yet.

2013-05-07 02:42:32 (9 comments, 3 reshares, 12 +1s)

Sad day for me. Adobe has announced that the product that I learned design on/with is being deprecated (killed). RIP Fireworks.

Why am I sad?
(and just so we are clear, I am not upset about moving to subscription only model)

Fireworks is a piece of software that Adobe inherited when they bought Macromedia (remember that company?) and they never really did much with it. It has been buggy, sluggish, and feature lacking for a long time.

So why do you use it?
Good question. The answer is that Fireworks is the only product that Adobe makes whose sole purpose is screen design. If the design you were working on would be rendered on a screen, Fireworks worked great.

Unlike Photoshop with it's backwards support for vectors and illustrator with is crappy support for bitmaps, Fireworks combined both seamlessly so that they could live together in harmony on the... more »

2013-05-05 05:37:34 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 21 +1s)

Most Americans today are unaware of the impact bicycling had on the US around the turn of the previous century. Cycling was big; an important past-time and social element, as well as a mode of transportation. So big that a superhighway for bicycles was built across Pasadena, California. Now, it's a forgotten part of our heritage and history.

#bicycling   #cycling  

Thanks to +Chris Davies for the original post.

2013-05-04 13:56:51 (0 comments, 74 reshares, 8 +1s)

"For every complex question, there is a simple answer, and it is almost always wrong." - H.L. Menken

Via +Thunder Parley:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/dr-jonny-bowden/red-meat-health_b_3119520.html

2013-05-15 13:53:12 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 29 +1s)

72 riders for +SF2G

2013-05-03 13:27:57 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

45+ riders for +SF2G!

2013-05-03 06:00:31 (3 comments, 17 reshares, 28 +1s)

Speechless...  (@ 06:20 )                               
Amazing performance by +Miyoko SHIDA
#videooftheweek

2013-05-02 23:43:25 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

Starting today, dates and times within emails are lightly underlined: click them to schedule that conference call or lunch date in Google Calendar without ever leaving Gmail.

2013-05-01 23:16:06 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

Lots of artistic license here, but I love this idea – and some of the resulting artwork is haunting and beautiful.

2013-05-01 21:08:01 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 2 +1s)

#AndroidDev   #AndroidDesign  

On day 2 of #io13 , +Nick Butcher and I will be giving a talk called Android Design for UI Developers. We hope to see you there! And if you're not attending the conference, don't fret, as the session will be live-streamed on YouTube.

I also wanted to provide a bit of background for the talk. While developer.android.com/design is a fantastic (and very important) resource for designers, we still get lots of questions from developers about how to implement all those guidelines*. In this talk, we'll help answer some of those questions by providing some key recipes for implementing proper navigation, responsive design, and the Holo visual language.

(*) Yes, we are working on ways to improve navigation of and between our docs!