Zuckerberg’s Not So Subtle Dig At Google Circles | Hacker News Reader

Zuckerberg’s Not So Subtle Dig At Google Circles

techcrunch.com

8 pointsBvS8 comments

"The definition of groups is... everyone inside the group knows who else is in the group"

This is a slightly narrow definition, the visibility of a group should be an attribute.

Dan Gillmor cites a good use-case:

"I'm considering a circle called "insufferable" for people I find personally annoying but whose work I feel obliged to keep track of, in any case."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/...

Facebook has the same sharing relationship in the form of lists. Aren't facebook lists more similar to google circles than facebook groups are?

Yes, they are, but both might be wrong answers to the question of how to share to a limited number of people.

For example if I would like to share with my colleagues I would much prefer a centrally organized group instead of everyone keeping their own "work circles" up to date (eg when new interns come and go).

It's not the same sharing relationship. You have to be friends with someone before you add them to a Facebook List. Google+ has no concept of "friends". How you see someone is not necessarily how they see you.

Big words especially considering you can't search through the people who "like" the same interests as you in Facebook. What's the point of social networking if I can't actually connect with anyone who is interested in the same things as me?

Social networking is about connecting with new people, not a virtual front end for people you already know...

> not a virtual front end for people you already know

For most people I know, it actually does exactly that.

"The definition of groups is... everyone inside the group knows who else is in the group"

Pretty good point in my opinion. Maybe groups are a better solution for people who want to share with a limited number of friends. It also is much less work since only one person has to set up the group.

I would definitely like to see Google add groups as pseudo-people... And then you can put that group in a Circle and share to it.

People in the group can see who else is in the group. Groups could be curated (need approval to join) or just open to anyone, and moderated (need approval to post) or not depending on the choices made by the group owner.

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