The Global Scope

Egypt’s Mubarak back in court - http://pulse.me/s/547xJ

Story by: Anna-Lysa Gayle

Who runs the world? Google! Sorry Beyonce, but Google is showing signs of “webopolist” ( I should really consider coining that term) Who’s your your e-mail provider, your go to search engine, your one stop shop for sharing documents (Google Doc)? I think you get it. Just yesterday I was thinking how much “Google” runs the world (no pun intended).

With “sparks” flying, the web monopolist’s revamped idea of social media is looking promising (it’s not an out of this world different idea) . It’s everything that’s out there, minus a few minor things. With “Hangouts”, “Huddles”, “Sparks”, and “Instant Uploads”, the Google Plus (+) project seems to be a masterpiece in theory. Just last week Google Uploaded a few YouTube videos (shown below) to give the world a preview of what’s to come, and so far each video has over 200,000 views. Google’s marketing team says it’s mission is to make sharing on the web more like sharing in real life, which makes a lot of sense.

If you’re trying to get in on the action now, you won’t be able to. Google has reached its’ invite capacity and is in the midst of testing it with a small group of people. If you visit the Google (+) Project page you’ll see a notice telling you to wait your chance, which prompts you to the “keep me posted” link.

In the meantime, get familiar with the Facebook Friend Exporter button, recently announced by Mashable.com With Google Chrome, exporting your friends from Facebook is made easy. Information from friends is automatically saved to your Google mail account or to a folder of your choice, which makes me nervous for some reason. It’s proof that Facebook’s privacy settings is not as private as we may think.

Don’t get me wrong, Facebook still has a few more light years to go, but it’s going to have to do more to ensure that it stays on top, or even in the league. It’s obvious Google (+) is trying to push Mark Zuckerberg out the way.

Plus, Where is the Twitter fun? Google (+) seems so much like Facebook it’s sickening. What Google (+) is missing, is all the Twitter fun. Lately, it seems that I’d rather be caught tweeting than being on Facebook. I like reading people’s thoughts on a regular basis, and hearing about the latest trends #TT. Plus the 140 Character limit prevents people from blabbing on my live News feed. Google (+) will have to incorporate Twitter characteristics to make itself more appealing to a broader audience.
Google Plus (+) Tools

(1) Hangouts: Video chat wherever you want, with whoever you want. Facebook recently announced the creation of a new addition to the social media mogul with the addition of Skype.

(2) Sparks: “Nerding out together” (Google’s campaign slogan)
The ability to share your interests with who know you best.

(3)Circles: “Choose who get’s to know what”: Don’t share your everything with everyone, be selective. Selective sharing takes out that awkwardness you feel when the wrong person knows something they weren’t meant to.

(4)Instant Upload: No more “old school” uploading methods. Photos and videos go from your phone to your Google “me” section.

(5)Huddle: The football terminology makes me think of quarterbacks and line backs huddled around setting up for a play. Which is the best way to think of this tool, the opportunity to have a texting conference, made easy by Google (+).

I guess all the sleeping is paying off for the Google Staff. An application for Google (+) is now available on Androids, an iPhone application for the Google (+) is in the works.

CASEY GEIV
Out of State, Visitor
From: California

The Global Scope: What’s happening here today?
Casey: It’s the transformers Dark of the Moon 3D Premiere.

The Global Scope: What was the first Transformers like?
Casey: It was pretty good, it just explains how it all starts.

The Global Scope: What are you expecting from the third Transformers?
Casey: Something Crazy…I don’t know…it looks pretty cool in the trailers. Everything is blowing up and stuff.

JESSICA FOUGHT
Merchandise clothes supervisor, Victorias’ Secret
From: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The Global Scope: Why are you here today?
Jessica: I’m actually in New York to audition for the Boston Celtics dance team, I auditioned this morning. It was preliminaries, and I made it through. I’m going to Boston in two weeks to audition for the finals to see if I make it. It’s ironic that Transformers is like my favorite movie and I’m here right now seeing the premiere before I go home back. I’m originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania…so I’m in New York to audition and I’m seeing this at the same time….it’s crazy.

The Global Scope: So are you going to see the premiere tonight at midnight?
Jessica: No, actually I can’t..I’m just trying to see what I can before I leave on my bus this evening.

The Global Scope: What are you looking for in Transformers 3?
Jessica: In the movie…I have no idea. I’m just looking for them to excite me, because I really wasn’t into transformers before the movie started. I watched the first movie, it got me intrigued…second movie got me hooked…so third movie should blow me out of the water.

Thank you Casey & Jessica for speaking with the Global Scope Today!

Remember that game you played as a little kid, “I spy”. Well, sometimes I usually play this game on my own. I thoroughly enjoy observing my environment. Today I spotted two things that especially caught my eye. What do I spy?

First there was Google’s street view car, which happened to be updating the maps in the New York City area. Google’s street view tool allows people to navigate through an area digitally, without having to be there. It’s one of the great things about Google. I was instantly excited when I saw it. I hope a picture of my silhouette appears in one of the photos of the street view #wishfulthinking.

Gay Pride reaches an all time high in NYC

Today seemed a little different than any other day in New York City, particularly for same sex couples. I saw more rainbow flags, rainbow color schemes, and display of gay pride in New York City than I have ever seen before. The same sex marriage bill was approved on a 33 to 29 vote on Friday. Since then, this weekend a Gay Parade was held and same sex couples all over celebrated. New York is now the largest state where same sex couples can now wed. Mayor Bloomberg is encouraging same sex couples to host their weddings in the big apple in hopes of attracting more tourists, and bringing in money for the businesses around the city.

Editor’s note:

I’m making a seasonal detour for the next few months. Considering that I’m spending most of my summer in New York City, I’ve decided to capture the happenings in the city. I hope you all don’t mind the subtle addition to the Global Scope. Please feel free to request event coverages, and or topics. I would be happy to incorporate more of what you want.