Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Google Kool-aid

A friend and I were discussing yesterday which Google products we use. I could list quite a few of them, from Adsense and Alerts to Talk and Web history. (The conversation started with comparing Google Chrome, their new web browser that was released yesterday. I've been pretty impressed so far.) It seems like Google hits things just about right for me, both design and timing wise. I like their clean look, simple and easy to understand but powerful once you learn how to use it. And they always seem to come out with things at the right time for me - not early-adopter soon, but just a little ahead of the curve. I'm currently waiting for the first generation of Android phones to work the bugs out before I make the plunge into a smart phone.

So, yeah, I've drunk the Google kool-aid. If it's something that they put out, I'm pretty inclined to give it a try.

One of the recent things that Blogger has done is to integrate a social networking-kinda thing - the "Follow this blog" box to the right. So, if you have a blogger ID, please "follow" me - it'll work best if more people use it.

4 comments:

SnowLeopard said...

I saw an article on Google Chrome today, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I also tried to add the Follower widget to my blog, but it said it wasn't available to all blogs yet... Lucky one! I did add something else- a different children's book featured everyday, however, I don't think it's working right because there is html code and no cover picture...

And you are the dork this time. :)

MarcT. said...

friend here.

OK, so I'm following you. What does that entail exactly? It added you to my Reader, but you were already there via RSS. Am I missing something? What's in it for me?

Turi Becker said...

Well, yeah, good question. The "blogs I'm following" show up slightly differently in Reader, and I get info about them when I sign in to Blogger as well. Really, I'm just doing it to try the new thing and see what the benefits are as I go. This social networking stuff does kinda seem to turn the internet into a big popularity contest sometimes, though, huh?

Turi Becker said...

Another thing: It lets you show someone whose blog you read but don't necessarily comment on that your're with them. Also, it's a way to see other blogs that people with like interests might be reading or writing. And for me, knowing that I've got readers motivates me to write (and, in the case of my running blog, to run - I don't know if I'd have made myself go run this morning if I didn't have someone "following" that blog already...)