Inside Google+: How The Search Giant Plans To Go Social

Circles looks really interesting, it's something Facebook has never managed to get right. And Larry Page changing his views on UI design demonstrates a willingness to really push out the boat on this one. They will have a tough time fighting the network effects of Facebook's social graph but I think it's time to put the meme about Google not understanding social to rest.

Really great article. Seems like the author has had a lot of access to the team working on Google+, and it makes for an interesting read.

  "We needed a code name that captured the fact that either there was
  a great opportunity to sail to new horizons and new things, or that
  we were going to drown by this wave," Gundotra said last August.

Or their approach boiled down to four bullet points which started with M, R, L and C, so someone decided to call it "Emerald Sea".

I mean, they even mention that the painting thing was a retcon in the article. But Vic's in front of Steven Levy, Google's official mythologizer, so he goes for it.

I'm guessing the four points behind the "MRLC" initials were mobile, recommendations, live and circles (or, equivalently, context). That does neatly categorize Google+ to date.

I wonder how long they've been working on it.

Given the many people who left Google for Facebook, I wonder if Facebook had inside information about this.

for all who have also suffered through "in the plex" jump directly to page 5 http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/inside-google-plus-so... for some actual new information