Last week Google's I/O 2012 developers conference got a huge amount of press for putting on a great show and delving deeper into the possibility of such futuristic products as Google Glasses. One announcement that seemed to slip through the cracks to some degree was the introduction of Google+ Events, an impressive new product that got off to a rough start and even inspired an online meltline by one of the tech world's most noted commentators, Robert Scoble.
But once things settle down, Google+ Events is something all musicians, music marketers and music event organizers should give a close look.
To be honest, I haven't become a big fan of Google+. I have an account but I mostly use it just to make sure links to my content get whatever extra boost Google might give them in search. Though I could be wrong, my general impression is that it also hasn't taken the larger world of music by storm.
Robert Scoble Expresses His Feelings About Google+ Events
Whether or not Google+ Events can change the level of interest in the music world remains to be seen but it's a pretty tempting offering. Unfortunately things got off to a bad start with invites showing up on people's Google Calendars without having been accepted which meant people like Robert Scoble, losing it in the above video, had their calendars rendered useless.
Google seems to be responding as quickly as possible and has apparently fixed that problem. That's important to Google and to users because they're integrating all sorts of other Google services with Google+ events.
1) Choose a theme for your invitation (video)
2) Automatically add your events to Google Calendar
3) Share pictures and videos during the event with Party Mode (video)
4) Remember the event with a photo collection of pictures posted during the event or added afterwards (video)
Bonus: Schedule your next Google Hangout video chat event with automatic notifications when it starts
Google+ Events is likely to grow and change over coming weeks and months. Google's current strategy of integrating everything it can with Google+ makes it likely that there will be more changes ahead. However, given the difficulties at launch, one hopes changes won't come at the expense of the user.
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch) blogs about business at Flux Research: Business Changes and about dance at All World Dance: News. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
