Mr. Jingles is a (mostly) welcome mascot for the recently improved Google+ notification system across the web and mobile. We've managed to distract him from his job for a few minutes in order to answer a few questions of ours in an exclusive interview for Google Plus Daily.
The cheery notification bell showed his face alongside a recent upgrade to the notification system for Google+, which is part of the Google Bar displayed across various Google properties such as Search, Gmail, Drive and more. The new notification system, replacing the red counter with a monochromatic symbol of a bell, is easier to manage notifications thanks to new features such as a "Mark all as read" button, syncing across devices and a generally easier to use layout. |
| Mr. Jingles doing what he does best |
Question Time
Mr. Jingles, you're new here. What was your job before you joined Google+?I hung out a lot in hotel lobbies, the belfries of churches, and on the reins of reindeer. You know, the usual hangouts for a bell. You’d be surprised about how much those jobs relate to letting people know about their latest comments and +1s.
Since Google+ is always open and you're working 24 hours/day, how do keep yourself so happy?
I guess I don’t know any other way to be!
We've added you to our circles and we've been loving your "pro tips" for notifications. Can you give us one our readers may find handy?
If you miss being able to see the full page view of Notifications on your laptop, you can get to it by right-click on the bell (mini-me!) in the Google bar and open in a new tab.
You're eye-catching, but we can't hear you. Do you plan on ringing any time soon?
I admit, you're good looking. Who designed you, and is there a Mrs. Jingles?
You play an important role on Google+, can we expect to see you popping up anywhere else?
Wait, what? You can’t hear me when I do my happy dance? Hmmm.
I admit, you're good looking. Who designed you, and is there a Mrs. Jingles?
+Ryan Morrison illustrated me and he and others helped me learn to dance. As for a Mrs., I’m married to my job. As you said, serving Google Plussers is a 24-hour gig!
You play an important role on Google+, can we expect to see you popping up anywhere else?
I hope to make as many people as possible happy on Google+.
Our favourite feature is the "Mark all as read" button, what's yours?
Mark all as read is the fastest way to see me! My favorite feature is if you read a notification on one device it gets marked as read everywhere.
Are there any changes we should expect to the Google+ notifications in the future?
Obviously, you have no hands, so it must be hard to type. Is your Google+ page managed by a Googler?
I’m told that the team is constantly working on making notifications better.
Obviously, you have no hands, so it must be hard to type. Is your Google+ page managed by a Googler?
Have you tried Google’s speech-to-text technology? It is pretty amazing what you can do with it. No hands required!
Any final thoughts?
Thanks so much for having me! :D
Final Notes
Make sure you've added +Mr. Jingles to your circles as he'll be posting pro tips from time to time and there's no doubt he'll make your day with his charm, wit and tasteful sense of humour.