The New Google Plus Stream

Well, it is here. The new and improved Google Plus. I guess we can call it Google Plus 3.0.

Today Vic Gundotra announced some major changes. The changes were the stream, hangouts and photos. I have been playing around with it for the last hour or so and I must say that it is much different than Google Plus 1.0. In fact, it is completely different. There are a few things I will point out that will catch the eyes of most Google Plus Users.

No Longer Auto Update

When in your home stream it is no longer auto update. There is a blue button on the upper left that has the refresh wheel with a number for the amount of new posts that have been updated since you last refreshed. This is much different than the previous Google Plus in which the new posts would automatically show up. I am not too sure how I feel about this yet. I think it could be very good for those who get too much stuff in their stream but it might be time consuming to continue to hit update every 15 minutes.

The Stream is Like Google Now

The stream now has two columns. Each column has posts from the individuals that you follow. It looks a little bit like Pinterest but with much more text. There is also a couple new features in the drop down box that is the arrow on the upper right of each post. One of the neatest and most useful additions is the "view post activity" option. This will allow you to see who has commented, +1's or shared a post. Very useful for anyone that likes to track the movement or engagement of their posts.

Overall Impression

I absolutely love it. The new stream will take time to get used to. The notification box in the upper right is much different. The comments are smaller and each post becomes a new "card" very similar to Android and Google Now. It will definitely take some time to get used to but I am enjoying the changes I am seeing so far. There is much more to come.