brianstorms: July 2011 Archives

Google+, or, why email remains the killer app

It's amusing to read about folks declaring they're quitting email. One writer shared how he went on a strict Google+ diet: "I even stopped using e-mail."

No you didn't. Google+ is email. It is an evolutionary step, not a revolutionary step. I kind of wonder if Google+ is not Gmail with a different UI

Let's compare, shall we?

Google+	Email
You send and receive messages to and from people	You send and receive messages to and from people
The spin term is share	There isn't a spin term, it just is what it is
You can't send a message unless you specify at least one recipient	You can't send a message unless you specify at least one recipient
Distribution lists are called Circles	Distribution lists are called distribution lists
When you specify your recipient(s), you pick individual names from your Circles, you pick one or more Circles, or some mixture	When you specify your recipeint(s), you enter individual addresses (or pick them from your address book), or a mixture of addresses and distribution list addresses
Recipients all get the same message and all the attachments	Recipients all get the same message and all the attachments
Recipients reply to the message by adding a "Comment" which is seen by all the recipients and the original sender	Recipients can reply to just the sender, to all recipients, or to a subset
Recipients can forward incoming messages to other individuals or Circles or some mix	Recipients can forward incoming messages to other individuals or distribution lists or some mix
Users view incoming messages in a "Stream", which can be organized into sub-streams based on posts from senders belonging to one of your Circles	Users view incoming messages in an "Inbox", which can be organized by moving the messages manually, or automatically based on rules, into sub-folders

Sure, Google+ has other features like Hangouts and stuff, but the core is the conversation, and the conversation is basically email. Like it always has been.

By brian on July 16, 2011 4:57 PM

No Shows

I always find it unsettling that so many VCs don't show up at the San Diego Venture Summit.

Photo of registration table with VC name tags, taken at 10:14am on the way out near the end of an event that started at 7:30am.

Click on the image to see the names. You'll recognize a few I bet.

A VC told me recently, the thing is, they all show up . . . the night before, where they go to a ball game at the stadium next to the hotel. That is what gets the VCs to come to San Diego. But rather than actually show up at the Venture Summit event, they bail. Hence the table full of unclaimed name-tags.

The San Diego business community ought to think about how together we can make it worth their while to stick around the day after the ball game so we can reverse this trend.

By brian on July 15, 2011 10:39 AM

July 2011 Archives

Google+, or, why email remains the killer app

No Shows

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