Orkut The New Google Me?

August 25, 2010 – 6:13 am

New Orkut features spawn Google Me rumors, let me go on record saying Google Me will not be Orkut, no way, no how!

With the new features at Orkut a sudden flurry of Google Me theories have risen. They are wrong.

First off let me say I know Google Me is real. I know when Google Me will launch. And I bet I can predict exactly what it will look like. Not ready to reveal that yet, but when I am, you will know first if you are on my Google Social Networking notification list.

Second, as marketer, I will bet my last dollar that there is no way Orkut will be Google Me. Orkut is perceived as a failure and that cannot compete with Facebook. NOT TRUE but perceived.

Let’s look at perception in pop media

  • Mel Gibson was the sexiest man in the world on the cover of Time 10 yrs ago. Now he is PERCEIVED as an old senile drunk.
  • Madonna was trendy and fashionable into her late 30s. Unbelievable for a female, but now she is PERCEIVED as an anorexic old hag. South Park rips on her regularly.
  • Rock Hudson hid his homosexuality because he was a brand, PERCEIVED as very masculine and macho.

Perception is important. Orkut is perceived and a failure that Facebook has buried in boot heel dust.

Orkut’s perception would have to be massively changed thru marketing. MASSIVELY!

But a new brand? It’s new, try it out, never before seen features, revolutionary and one of a kind, lightning fast, saves you time, go see the new Google Me now!

Try using that kind of adcopy with Orkut. FAIL! Hence Orkut is NOT going to be Google ME. Keep your eyes out for my video and my next set of Google Me predictions (link to part 1). I have got Google Me down pat.

By Chris Lang | Posted in Orkut, google me | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Google Dumps Google Buzz?

August 10, 2010 – 6:49 am

I could care less if Google deletes Buzz tomorrow Why?

#1 Google is NOT going to dump Buzz. Enough said. However…..

Because my followers will follow me on Google Me. Or what ever platform. This is what makes Google’s social network valuable.

Because my followers and those I follow are in my Gmail contacts. They have little to do with Buzz, or Wave. Because when you follow someone they are added to your Gmail contacts for you by Google.

I have mentioned this to you before many times. Many seem to think that Google social apps are built on your address book. True.

Gmail contacts are not a static address book though. Google will build your address book for you.

We started building our following when we broke the news in 2008 that Google was building a social network, as that was how it worked in Google Reader sharing. Then we added more followers to my Google Contacts with Google Friend Connect. Then more with Google Wave. Then more with Google Buzz. Started at zero, now at over 2000. Google added them, not me.

So I don’t care if Buzz gets canned tomorrow for Google Me, I will be instantly following you there tomorrow and you well be following me. Because it’s not about Buzz, it’s about Gmail and real email addresses and phone numbers of real people.

Like Thomas Morffew that I spoke with on the phone yesterday. I never knew of Thomas until we chatted on Google Buzz. I did not add his email address to my Google Contacts. But we followed each other on Buzz so Google added Thomas to my Google Contacts and me to his. I asked Thomas for his phone number after that. When I got his number I searched my contacts and there he was so I added his number to the existing listing. I didn’t add him, Google did.

Dump Buzz and open Google Me? Fine. There will be Thomas following me and me following him because we have a relationship built and saved by Google.

That is how social networking is done and how real relationships are developed. Google just helps this along. It’s time to stop thinking about the application from Google and start thinking relationships that you will continue to strengthen no matter what the Google platform.

How can this Google Social Network benefit you even more? Click here…..

By Chris Lang | Posted in Google Buzz | Tagged , , | Comments (10)

Add Google Friend Connect to a WordPress Blog

July 12, 2010 – 6:35 am

Lots of mis-information surrounds how to add Google Friend Connect to a WordPress blog. Here is how to do it the right way

You can see in the beginning of this Google Friend Connect video, how Larry Brauner was having lots of problems using the HTML widget in WordPress. Do Not use the widget system in WordPress if you can avoid it. Here’s how to easily add these gadgets to WordPress code directly.

It’s easy, just watch this short video….. (Best in HD, click full screen)

Also if you are using an older version of WordPress your Google Friend Connect may not work. Use this fix by adding the code Google supplied me with just above the Google Friend Connect gadget code.

However since I upgraded my WordPress version to 2.9 I am having no problems with Google Friend Connect now.

By Chris Lang | Posted in Google Friend Connect, Google Social Networking | Tagged , , , , | Comments (13)

Android vs iPhone by Robert Scoble (video)

June 2, 2010 – 5:32 pm

Robert Scoble compares his new Google Android EVO vs the Apple iPhone.


Android Pros

The new Androids are head and tails above the first Android G1. Don’t judge Androids by a first generation model you may have used previously or someone you know has.

Tethering, Wifi hotspot, Android delivers first, very valuable especially in hotel stays and Robert describes how his Droid saved him the $15 a day fee at a hotel recently.

Multitasking rocks, Scoble talks about how multitasking makes the Android a computer, where as an iPhone is a still a one app at a time phone. Hence better battery life, it’s a trade off.

Google Voice is much better on Androids.

Android EVO screen size allows you to read documents much more easily. He said he can see reading a book on this and oddly enough Kindle for Android’s is due to be released this month by Amazon.

Google Maps is dramatically better on Android, turn by turn navigation on Android is very valuable, much much better than on iPhones.

Google Buzz and Latitude built into Google Maps, geo location features, all work much better on Androids.

AT&T is the Achilles heel of the iPhone. Numerous dead zones in the San Francisco area.

AT&T has now removed their unlimited data plans. You are grandfathered in at AT&T if you already have an unlimited data plan. Otherwise it’s $10 a GB. But if you want to tether the iPhone to use it as a portable WiFi hotspot you will lose your grandfathered unlimited plan and must pay the $10 per GB fees.

To activate an iPhone you have to activate thru iTunes. To get your backed up contacts from your previous iPhone, you have to reinstall them form iTunes. (I hate iTunes, won’t have it on my machines)

On an Android all you have to do is put in your Email address and Google password. When Scoble did this all his contacts showed up, all his apps showed up, all his calendar items showed up. It was all there in seconds with out having to use iTunes. This amazed me and it even amazed Robert Scoble.

Android Cons

Apple has already wrapped up the most viable users by getting to the market 2 years ahead of Google Androids. In other words, the peeps with the money already spent it with Apple. They already have purchased lots of iPhone apps and are pretty committed to their iPhone.

Battery life is better in iPhones, dramatically better as Scoble points out numerous times.

Solution: By a second battery and carry a charger and a car charger. Something I have already done.

Robert does point out the the microphone and sound quality of calls is better on the iPhone. I have noticed this myself, voice quality is somewhat less on my Droid.

The bottom line

Advantage: Google Android.

I currently pay $110 a month for unlimited everything thru Verizon on my Motorola Droid. The pricing plan AT&T just rolled out today really sucks.

Scoble describes meeting a normal guy in Tahoe that bought an Android even though he felt the iPhone may be a better device just because he hates AT&T so much. You also have the choice of Tmobile, Sprint or Verizon as your carrier.

Scoble said the only thing he does not like about the Android is the battery life.

He even goes so far to say that the he is not tempted to turn the iPhone back on, and he is a Apple fanboy.

As iPhone fanboy an you are going to meet natural resistance when you change to a new UI, like Android. Take this into consideration when you hear iPhone fans trash Google Androids.

It is also important to note, that this is Robert Scoble’s words, not mine, the number one Google fanboy.

Take the time to watch the video and get this right from the source. I have followed Scoble for years now and his take on this is very important as Robert Scoble is a huge influencer when it comes to anything tech. This video alone will sell many thousands of Androids.

In the end, it is the Android that will make or break Google social networking features. When you are able to reference your contacts, calendar, YouTube, Google Buzz and Google Wave networks right from your phone and sync them without having to sync to your main computer you can really see the advantage of Gwave Mastery.

By Chris Lang | Posted in Google Android | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (4)

Free Google Buzz Report

April 20, 2010 – 10:57 pm

Google Buzz has been through a lot lately, both in the tech blogs and changes at Google.

Why should you read this now?

  • Find out if Google privacy problems are real
  • New Google Buzz buttons, get them inside
  • Discover how to set Buzz up right
  • Make money, build relationships and craft content for Buzz

When you read my free The State of Google Buzz Authority Report you will understand why this has occurred, why it had to be and how Google Buzz is moving forward fast.

The document is a PDF file. Right click the link, select “Save link as” and then save it to your desktop.

If I have any questions or comments I welcome them below and look forward to our discussion.

By Chris Lang | Posted in Google Buzz | Tagged , , , | Comments (13)

Twitter Location Sharing on Google Maps

March 13, 2010 – 7:34 am

Twitter tweet locations and Google Maps have linked up. Here is what you can expect if you are using it from your laptop or desktop.

Here’s what a Tweet looks like on Google Maps when you show your Twitter location.

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Enabling your Twitter location in Google Maps goes like this.

Step #1, opt in


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Click “Turn on location”


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In FireFox click the “Share location” button

I suggest not to check the “Rember for this site” button so you can choose to share your location for each online session rather than every time you Tweet.


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Now you will see where Your IP address finds you to be located


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Now on your Tweet you see the location link


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Clicking the Google logo will take you into Google maps to the area from where you Tweeted


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Here Ben Parsons of Mashable’s screen shot from his phone

Notice that Google Latitude is enabled on his phone, or so it looks. This may also be another application too, but it looks very much like Latitude to me.


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Discuss this on Buzz with me and your Buzz friends

Join us on Buzz and tell us what YOU think….

You can see this in action on my Chris Lang Twitter page

And you can see where Mashable and TechCrunch broke this story (yawn) but why bother, this set of screen shots tells you way more LOL!

By Chris Lang | Posted in google maps | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)

Add a Google Buzz Button to Your Blog

February 18, 2010 – 6:29 am

John Chow came up with this Buzz hack to add a Google Buzz Button to your site. What it does is submits the article to Google Reader. From there Google Buzz adds your Reader stream to Google Buzz.

I did not like how the code worked so I improved upon it here. I did not like the fact the image resided on John’s site and it was hard to understand that you needed to add it to WordPress code. Better instructions were needed. Here you go!

Here is how to do this….

Here is the code:

Right click the textbox, select all and then copy the code.

Next open Notepad if you are in Windows, your text editor if you are in Linux or Mac. And I mean text editor, not Word or the equivalent. Notepad is the default in Windows, or you can use your HTML editor set on HTML not WYSIWYG.

Now paste the code you just copied and replace YOUR-DOMAIN-HERE with your domain.

If you use numeric strings on your blog URLs like I do, (look at your address bar) then you will need to add ?p= after the / after your domain. link this http://www.googlingsocial.com/?p= as I had to do. If you use word string ULSs in your blog posts you should be fine.

Now copy the code again and proceed with the next step.

Step 2 Add the code to WordPress

Next go to your WordPress admin panel.

Click “Appearance” or “Design” tab in older installs.

Now click “Design Editor” to open the WordPress app.

Next open the “Single Post” page, usually named single.php as the file name. You only want it on your single blog post pages, you do not want your Buzz friends adding the entire domain based 10 post blog synopsis to Buzz.

Look at the image below to see where you are going to add the code.

You are looking for a line that says ?php the_content()

Like I did in the screen shot below.


Click image to see full size.







Paste in your code directly below it. I supplied you with comment tags so you can find only your code easily after you add it.

Click “Save” to finish this step.

Step 3: Get the Button image

Right click the image, select save as and then save it to the images folder of your site.

Now FTP the image to the /images folder on your site. Almost every site has one, it is the default. If not create one. If you don’t know how to FTP I show your here. Don’t pay attention to the Google Friend Connect stuff, they removed the need to FTP.

Hope this helps you out and you can try my button out below. Any ideas or feedback on how we can improve this just let me know in the comments below.

By Chris Lang | Posted in Google Buzz | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (13)

Google Buzz Misconceptions

February 16, 2010 – 5:48 am

Armand Morin published his first impressions on Google Buzz, here’s my response since his blog was not accepting comments at the time I saw his post.

UPDATE: 9:02 AZ time Armand’s support team got right back to me just now and has enabled comments on his blog :]

Armand you made some valid points but I have to correct few. I know you are in Australia too so who knows what version of Buzz you are getting out of Google data centers down under. So, Armand, you said:


Armand: Allow People to Buzz From Their Profile Page. Right now you can only comment.

You have a “What are you doing” type box right at the top of Buzz. You can post links, pictures and text AND you can post them as public or private.


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Google is changing Buzz every day, features come and go, just stay with it, it will settle down.


Armand: Create a “Follow My Buzz” Button so people can add it to their websites

You might notice I have a “Follow Me On Buzz” button to the right of this post….

The button is on your Google profile. You may have missed this because you have be to logged into a Google account that is not yours to see it.

A follow on Buzz button in that case can be a link to the profile of your choice.


Armand: Outbound communication with Twitter and Facebook at a minimum.

I believe comments only go back to a Twitter profile if you respond with the @ sign but I have not tested this yet.

There is no communication with Facebook. The only Facebook aggregation you get is from FriendFeed.

Facebook decided on this policy, not Google. Facebook decided to go it alone with Microsoft’s support when they took Microsoft’s $220 million investment in 2008 and decided to bar Google Friend Connect from Facebook.


Armand: Allow Custom Profile Pages

http://www.google.com/profiles/chrislang

That is about as custom as you get. Or maybe I misunderstood what you are calling a profile page.

If you want to find your Google profile page the link is http://www.google.com/profiles/me and if you have not created one Google will ask you to do so.


Armand: Make a “Followers” image list. Like Twitter has on right hand side.

Right there in Buzz, just look for the link “Followers” at the top of Buzz. It will open an overlay with your Followers and you can follow in return from the as well. Or remove pesky unwanted followers too.


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Armand: Allow you to make your whole Buzz Account PRIVATE. Twitter does this and so does even MySpace.

Good point. Bet they are working on that now. Google has been very receptive to suggestions so far. There should be a better setting page for Buzz.


Armand: Create separate buzz page for users as well. This will make it easier to use even if you are NOT in Gmail.

You can do that Armand, here is the Buzz page for this post…. You can easily post Buzz comments right there too.

No, Gmail is the key to this thing. That is one reason Google Wave is not used as highly as I predicted, no Gmail integration.

The idea is that Gmail is your communications platform. With Gchat, Gmail and now a social dashboard all in Gmail it is “One Stop Shopping” for all your communications. That is why it is in Gmail.


Armand: Not force you to see all Buzz comments or be notified of Buzz Comments. I subscribed to Mashable’s Buzz feed and it sucked. I like Mashable it’s just they have a huge amount of comments so it wasn’t a good experience for me, not their fault Google’s fault.

Jack Humphrey and I both agreed, it is a bad idea to follow people like Pete Cashmore (Mashable) in Google Buzz, we both added and removed his profile. If following Pete Cashmore sucks, that’s Pete’s fault for Tweeting every single post thru a robot, not Google’s.

If I tweeted ever single action I took online I would suck too, but I am still trying to see how I can blame my sucking on Google. Seems to have worked for Pete here.


Armand: Michel Fortin stated that it [Buzz] was because of WAVE not doing as well as they had hoped.

Buzz has nothing to do with Google Wave. Wave is for private or public discussion, collaboration and rich social applications.

Buzz is simply the next step in Google Social Search.

Buzz is to keep up with your REAL friends activity on YouTube, Twitter and FriendFeed. Two very different things.

Why do I say REAL friends? Because Buzz is based on your Google Contacts. If you add me to your Google Contacts and I add you then we will see each other in Buzz.

But like I said, making your Google profile URL public will get you more followers and give you the chance to follow others you may not have discovered yet.

You might also notice Google Social Search is doing the same thing as Buzz but in Google results.

So again I do have to point out Google Buzz is not something they made up yesterday, it is part of something much bigger and has been in development for years. They started writing the code for Google Wave in early 2007, over 3 years ago.

This is why Google never launched a Facebook clone, they don’t need to. Think Google Friend Connect, YouTube, Google Reader, Google Wave and now Google Buzz.

And before you mention Orkut, that was to deliver advertising to India and Brazil where Orkut has been king for years. Orkut has nothing to do with the US market and never was intended to.

When you look at the much larger Google picture like I do, you can see that this is a much more rich social set of applications than Facebook ever could be.

I originally wrote this as a comment on Armand’s blog which is where it belonged but as I said, his blog was not accepting comments at the time. Hope this helps you all with Google Buzz.

And you can follow me on Google Buzz right here….

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

By Chris Lang | Posted in Google Buzz | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (12)

Google Wave Notifier With Sound Too

January 3, 2010 – 9:08 am

Just a quick heads up that the new desktop Gwave Notifier is my new favorite tool. It is a Windows app that runs in your task-bar and even has a happy little sound it plays when you have a new Wave

I was leery of adding a desktop app that has access to my Google account log in. But when I saw this Google Wave Notifier (new tab) on SourceForge I jumped in and tried it out.

SourceForge is a trusted source for open source applications and is a source you can trust for secure software that is not going to contain back-end malicious apps. Lots of good free professional apps over there too.

The Google Wave Notifier runs on the machine, not in the browser like the FireFox plugin. I did not like that one as I work on slow (2mb maybe) free Wifi connections often and it slowed my browser speed way down at the local coffee house.

This Wave Notifier Does it right, here’s how it works

Look for the logo in the task bar after you install it. Small download too, just 1.5MB.

When it runs for the first time, or each time you boot Windows, it will give you a little slide show of your new Waves.

Even plays a notifacation sound when you have a new Wave. You can turn the setting off and on too by right clicking the icon in the task-bar and selecting options.

Next, click it once and the Google Wave Notifier will give you an overlay like this:

Notice the blue text (arrow)? That is because my mouse (not shown) is hovering over the Wave when I took the screenshot. Each one is a link and if you click it, it takes you to a new tab, loads Gwave and opens the particular Wave that you clicked on. Real time saver over looking for the Wave in a Gwave inbox.

Glad to see this new Wave Notifier working well with all the bells and whistles I would have had to have my programmer build in. Job well done guys. Without this I would find Google Wave way less useful and I think you will too.

Google Wave invites

I just got more invites and on the Christmas Bonus post from last month I have plenty of readers that have invites too. Just shout me via my email on my contact Chris Lang page and we will get you on Google Wave as fast as Google allows. Be sure to include your Gmail that you want to use with Gwave. See you there….


Discuss this in Google Wave here

By Chris Lang | Posted in google wave | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)