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"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
To mark the 13th anniversary of Google's inception, we've pulled together our top 10 G-themed accessories from all around the web.
From lighting to clothing via art, we think these fantastic bits and bobs are perfect for fans of the Mountain View-based business behemoth.SEE ALSO: 15 Awesome Android Accessories
Take a look though the photo gallery for some fun items made, or inspired by, the world's largest search engine. Let us know in the comments which ones you like.
A bit of a statement for your own home, we think this would look great in an office reception area.
Cost: $23.99
As featured on Google staffers' desks, these G-themed lava lamps are colorful and fun.
Cost: $19.35
This talking-point cushion gives you a list of the top Google searches of 2010. The Etsy shop offers versions all the way back to 2006, so you could collect the set.
Cost: $69
Make your own Google Doodle on the lid of your Mac with this cool decal.
Cost: $7.99
Take your stress out on these LEGO-like squishy bricks. A set of four boasts the Google colors.
Cost: £4.69 (approx $7.60)
We're fans of this mug that you can write, draw or doodle on with chalk -- two pieces of which are included.
Cost: $9.10
This neon Google light would be a funky way to brighten up a dark corner of your office.
Cost: $26.85
The only problem we can see with this set of Sesame Street Doodle stickers is deciding where to put them.
Cost: $3.45
In the style of Soviet propaganda posters, this print would look striking on your office wall. There are versions for other social networks available on Etsy, so you could create a terrific display.
Cost: $8
Finally, for the truly hardcore fan, Brass Monki offers Google-themed footwear.
Cost: £180 (approx $290)
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On September 4, 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin filed for incorporation as Google Inc. — they had received a $100,000 check from an investor made out to Google, Inc., and needed to incorporate that name so they could legally deposit the check.
Prior to the launch, Page and Brin met at Stanford in 1995, and soon decided to launch a search service called BackRub in January 1996. They soon reevaluated the name (and the creepy logo) in favor of Google, a play on the mathematical figure, "googol," which represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes. The name embodied their mission to create an infinite amount of web resources. And that they did.
Since then, Google has become a household name to billions of people worldwide. You'll overhear senior citizens command their grandchildren to "google" the price of foot cream. You'll witness toddlers punching the screen of the latest Android phone. And chances are, you've navigated the circles of Google+ (if not, let's get you an invite already).SEE ALSO: 10 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Google
We'd like to guide you on a trip down Google lane, presenting the key products and acquisitions that were born in the first Google garage office, and innovated in the Googleplex. In the comments below, please share how Google has had an impact on your life, and join us in wishing Google a happy birthday!
Google was first launched under the BackRub nomer. Soon after, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin registered the Google.com domain name in September 1997. The two arrived at the name as a play on the mathematical figure, "googol," which represents the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes. The name embodied their mission to create an infinite amount of web resources.
The original Google homepage prototype debuted in November 1998. Earlier that year Google received a $100,000 check made out to as-yet-unestablished Google Inc. from first investor Andy Bechtolsheim.
In September 2008, the two founders set up shop in Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park, CA, deposited their check and hired their first employee, Craig Silverstein.
Apart from adding Uncle Sam to its homepage, in 1999 Google outgrew its next office and moved to its first Mountain View, California location. The team announced $25 million in equity funding from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins in its first press release.
Apart from its partnership with Yahoo, in 2000 Google announced that its index reached the 1 billion-URL mark, making it the largest search engine in the world. Google also launched AdWord, a self-service ad program that allowed people to purchase keyword advertising that would appear alongside search results.
Image search launched in July 2001 with an index of 250 million images. That same year Google acquired Deja Usenet and archived its index into categories that ultimately made up Google Groups.
Early in 2002 Google marketed its first hardware, the Google Search Appliance, a device that plugged into a computer and provided advanced search capabilities for internal documents. In May Google announced Labs, a resource for people interested in trying out beta programs emerging from Google's R&D team. Later Google launched its News tool that provided links from 4,000 sources.
Google announced the world's largest content-targeted ad program, later dubbed AdSense after Google acquired Applied Semantics. Earlier in the year Google acquired Pyra Labs, the creator of Blogger.
Google launched Gmail on April Fool's Day 2004, but the beta version required an invitation to join. In January Orkut launched as Google's foray into social networking. In August, Google's initial public offering contained 19,605,052 shares of Class A common stock at $85 per share.
Google Maps launched in February 2005, to go live on the first iPhone in 2007. Additionally, code.google.com went live to provide resources for developers, and included all of Google's APIs. The company also acquired Urchin, whose content optimization service helped create Google Analytics, launched later that year. In June Google released Google Earth, a satellite-powered mapping service. In October Reader was unveiled to help organize and consolidate content into a single feed.
In a $1.65 billion stock transaction, Google acquired YouTube in October 2006. Google also unveiled Trends, a tool that allows a user to evaluate popular searches over a specific timeframe. Earlier that year Google released Gchat, a Gmail-based instant message service derived from Google Talk. Google Checkout emerged later as a way to pay for online purchases.
In November 2007 Google announced its first mobile venture, Android, which the company called "the first open platform for mobile devices."
In September 2008 Google introduced Chrome, its open source browser. The surprise was spoiled when the comic book that was meant to help debut Chrome leaked a day ahead of schedule. Later that month T-mobile announced the G1, Google's first Android-powered mobile device. That year Google also added Google Suggest capabilities and site search.
To much anticipation, Google announced its venture into real-time communication via the Wave platform. Little more than a year later, however, Wave was no more. That same year Google launched Mac-based photo application Picasa.
In 2010 Google launched its Apps Marketplace, an app store that allows third-party developers to sell their creations. That same year Google unveiled Google Buzz, its latest attempt at social sharing that originated in Gmail. The company also released Google TV after teaming up with Intel, Sony and Logitech.
Google's most talked-about and participatory social platform thus far, Google+ launched in June 2011 with invite-only access. The tech giant also announced its most expensive acquisition to-date when it bought Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.
More About: Google, media, Tech
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The FIFA World Cup Final made some big news this weekend with Japan beating USA in the final match Sunday. We saw tons of people commenting on the outcome of the game on their social channels, and as it turned out, Twitter users set a new record with the number of tweets sent per second.
Of course, we can't forget about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 either. The final film in the Harry Potter franchise released in U.S. theaters late last week, but it continued to make news as the weekend progressed. Fans set a box office record for opening night and eventually box office records altogether.
And as far as useful resources go, we've got the ultimate guide to Google+, Google's new social layer. You'll find some other handy tools for Google+ too, including how to set up an RSS feed and how to follow Mashable staff.
News Essentials
Carmageddon Approaches: Here's What It Will Look Like [VIDEO]
Netflix Heading to Europe in 2012 [REPORT]
LinkedIn Revamps Profiles for Students
The Rise of Mobile In-App Ads [INFOGRAPHIC]
This Week in Politics & Digital: Cyber Security in The Spotlight
Dual-Screen SpaceBook Laptop Up for Pre-Order [UPDATED]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Breaks Box Office Records
Is Google+ Becoming More Female?
Reaching 200 Million Accounts: Twitter's Explosive Growth [INFOGRAPHIC]
Spacecraft Orbits Protoplanet in Asteroid Belt, a First [INFOGRAPHIC]
World Cup Finals: USA Loses to Japan, the Web Reacts [PICS]
World Cup Final: A New Tweets Per Second Record
Helpful Resources
HOW TO: Add Mashable Staff to Your Circles on Google+
19 Essential Google+ Resources
46 New Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed
Top 10 Twitter Trends This Week [CHART]
5 Tips for Group Deals Success
5 Ways Journalists Are Using Google+
8 Crucial Elements of Startup Success
15 Rad Retro Office Accessories [PICS]
HOW TO: Make RSS Feeds for Google+ Profiles
Weekend Leisure
Can Web Video Views Predict Box Office Magic for Harry Potter?
Discovered a New Band? Find Out Which Songs To Check Out First With GoRankem
Android App Displays Brain Waves Via Wireless Headband [VIDEO]
More About: Google Plus, harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2, Weekend recap, World Cup Final
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Social networks have proved to be incredible distribution platforms for real-time news and continue to fascinate journalists as communication tools. It's no surprise that many media professionals have jumped quickly on the Google+ band wagon to explore its potential for journalism.
Some are updating personal accounts while others have created profiles for their organizations. They're in experimentation mode, testing out which features are most beneficial for messaging and engaging with their audiences.
Google+ has yet to be defined. For the news industry, it will become what the early adopters of the field make of it. Here are a few ways we've seen media professionals using the platform and what that might mean for the future of Google+ in journalism.
It's no surprise that Google+ users want to talk about Google+ — and journalists are no exception. Many have been posting tips and tricks for using the platform, such as how to get a more accurate circle count and ways to bring your Facebook stream into your G+ stream.
Even conversations about Twitter and Facebook seem to steer right back to Google+. For example, Matthew Ingram of GigaOm started a discussion about ads hitting Twitter feeds. While some responses stayed on topic, many started talking about whether Twitter users would run to G+ or if Google would begin including ads in streams.
As journalists continue to join the platform, further discussion and collaboration around Google+ as a communications tool will shape the way it's used for creating and distributing news content.
Sarah Hill, an anchor for KOMU-TV in Columbia, Missouri, has been inviting her Google+ fans to join her in Hangouts, the network's video chat service. KOMU hosts a Hangout during the 5 p.m. newscast to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the newsroom. She then interviews people in the Hangout on-air about their reactions to the day's news.
"G+'s video chat feature is turning into KOMU's own version of a satellite window," Hill said. "It's free. The video and audio are of air-able quality — no lugging gear to 9 different places to get 9 different opinions. You simply invite 9 viewers to your Hangout and the news comes to you."
One chat brought in people from Pakistan, New Zealand, Orlando, New York, LA, Missouri, Iowa and England. Hangout participants were floored by Hill's ability to multitask.
"It was quite amazing. There's Sarah broadcasting on live TV with one earpiece listening to us folks on G+, the other to the TV station folks; she's probably reading a teleprompter as well," wrote Christopher Scott, a viewer from New Zealand who joined in. "She even welcomes new folks to the Hangout and chats to them like she's home enjoying a drink with friends. I was seriously impressed."
Only 10 people are allowed in a Hangout, so spots fill up quickly and some commenters are bummed when they miss out. Still, Hill's experiment illustrates the reach of the Google+ community.
"It's like we have viewers from around the world on a video speed dial," she said.
Hangouts could be a great way for journalists to get audience reactions to news events in real time or find story ideas by asking Hangout participants what's important in their communities.
Despite Google telling brands the platform isn't ready for them yet, media organizations have quickly jumped on board. Like many of the early adopters from the journalism world, Canada's top news source CBC has been posting links to stories with prompts that solicit reader feedback. They truly tested the engagement waters with a caption contest. The contest was also posted on Facebook, Twitter and the CBC website.
"We've noticed that there's a bit of a competition to be witty right now on Google+," said Kim Fox, senior producer for community and social media at CBC. " We figured our daily photo caption challenge would play into that, and it has, outperforming other platforms."
Fox said she's seen smart dialogue and a deeper level of engagement with the content on Google+. She and her team plan to avoid replicating their Facebook and Twitter posts, and figure out what works for the Google+ community specifically.
With the natural enthusiasm for engagement and intelligent conversation, Google+ could become a place for journalists to generate solid feedback from their audiences. It's important journalists grasp the full potential of the platform. From there, they can optimize its features to create a social dialogue around news content.
Google+ is fostering rich conversation about journalism. It's cultivating a community of thought leaders who rely on each other for feedback about their opinions on news events and the media industry.
When tweeting news commentary, a journalist is limited to 140 characters. Unless the discussion has a hashtag, it's tough to see the full scope of the conversation as respondents may not be following all involved. With Facebook, conversations on journalists' personal profiles don't take off because many don't friend professional contacts. Even if the journalist has a public page, his or her discussions are competing with updates from their fans' friends and other pages because of the news feed algorithm. Google+ brings conversations back to the top of a stream when new comments arise. Though Facebook has a number of groups self-organized by journalists, grouping and sharing to professional contacts is more intuitive on Google+.
It also seems Google+ posts inspire more engagement than those on Facebook. For example, Mashable started discussions on both platforms about a study that claims 34% of iPhone users think they have 4G. The posts were published at roughly the same time and had similar prompts, posing questions about the study's results. On Facebook, there were 57 likes and 40 comments, while the Google+ post had 183 +1′s and 116 comments. Granted this is only one post of many, but it's still quite telling.
Though starting discussions about the news and their analysis of the news is nothing new for journalists, Google+ seems to be a more natural platform for these conversations.
The media industry's focus on journalistic objectivity makes some reporters more apt to withhold their opinions, beliefs and other details about their lifestyle. But Google+ is about people and has become a place where journalists can let their personalities shine.
Amidst the news links and discussions, streams are peppered with jokes, photos and anecdotes about life. Not unlike his Twitter feed, Jeff Jarvis is making people laugh with zings like "LAX Continental terminal isn't 3rd world, it's 5th or 6th. Expect to see pigs and goats running through." Others are re-sharing posts from followers they can relate to, such as Evonne Benedict of Seattle's KING-5, who was touched by a story from a fellow University of Washington alumnus.
We sometimes forget that journalists are people too. Google+ is a good reminder that for media professionals, there's more to life than the news.
Overall, the future of journalism on Google+ has yet to be determined. What are some other ways you've seen media professionals using the platform? What effect might it have on the news industry?
Image courtesy of Sarah Hill.
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Google+: It's the hot social network on the block. In just three weeks, Google's competitor to Facebook and Twitter has amassed more than 10 million users, and its users are sharing more than 1 billion pieces of content daily. It's become a hotbed for early adopters, tech luminaries, marketers and businesses around the world.
Google+ isn't the easiest thing to understand, though. It has a lot of features that can confuse beginners. Even advanced users can miss a lot of the little gems and nuances that define Google+.
That's why we decided to dig into every aspect of Google+, from Hangouts to Circles, from Google+ for businesses to what's next for Google's social network. The result is an extensive guide on all of Google+'s key features, as well as an introduction to the service and the important things you need to know about it. We've included commentary, videos, photos and more in our in-depth guide. In addition, we will update this guide regularly with the newest information on Google's Facebook competitor.
So, without further ado, here is Mashable's complete guide to Google+:
Google+ is the search giant's latest attempt to create a social network that rivals Facebook. Google launched Google+ on June 28, 2011 with a private beta. The project was led by Vic Gundotra, Google's SVP of social.
The social network is a collection of different social products. These features include Stream (a newsfeed), Sparks (a recommendation engine), Hangouts (a video chat service), Huddle (a group texting service), Circles (a friend management service) and Photos. We explain all of these features later in this guide. More features such as Games and Questions are expected to launch in the near future.
Google chose the name Google+ because it wants Google+ to be "an extension of Google itself," Gundotra explained to Mashable days before the launch. It's designed to be an improvement to all of Google, which is why the company also decided to change the iconic Google navigation bar to include a link to a user's Google+ profile, as well as a new icon that displays how many notifications a user has received, much like how Facebook handles notifications.
This isn't Google's first shot at dominating the social space. It has a long history in social media, including Orkut and its biggest success in social, YouTube. However, it's had two very big flops in social: Google Wave and Google Buzz.
This gallery will provide you with a quick overview of what Google+ looks like. Keep reading this guide to learn more about how to use all of Google+'s features.
This is the Google+ logo.
The Google+ icons. Starting top left and circling to the right: Circles, Hangouts, Home, Sparks, Profile, Photos.
All Google sites will sport the new Google+ navigation bar. It includes notifications, profile information and content sharing options.
This is the Google+ Stream, where users share content and see what their friends are sharing. It is similar to the Facebook News Feed.
Google+ Circles is Google's version of the Facebook friend list or the Twitter List. Users can select multiple friends and drag-and-drop them into groups. This makes it easier to send stuff to friends, family or the entire world.
This is the Google+ Circles editor in action. Google has created unique animations for adding and removing friends through HTML5.
Google+ Sparks is Google's content recommendation and discovery engine. Users can search different topics and find relevant articles, videos and photos. Users can then share that content with their friends.
Google+ has a unique video chat feature called Hangouts, which lets you chat with up to 10 people at the ame time.
Google+ allows you to upload and share photos with your friends. It includes photo tagging and a simple browser-based image editor.
Google+ Profiles are like most profile pages -- it includes basic information about the user like interests, occupation and profile photos.
Great, Google made a social network. Now you're probably asking yourself: Why the heck should I use Google+?
We aren't here to pitch Google+. Instead, we asked our Google+ followers a simple question: Why should someone use Google+?
The response was overwhelming. We got more than 500 responses on the Mashable News account and my Google+ account. Since we can't post everybody's responses, we've chosen six we believe encompass why so many people are excited by Google's new social initiative:
"Google+ is a much cleaner way to selectively share data with others. As Google integrates more of their other cloud products, like Documents, Calendar, and Reader, you're going to see it become one of the primary means of absorbing the data streaming from the Internet and sharing it with others." ~ Jason Poggioli
"It's the combination of being able to share based on (hopefully!) mutual interests with the ability to get exposure to interesting people and ideas. The relationship doesn't really have to be two way, but it doesn't all have to be public." ~ Holly Henry
"For some reason, the level of engagement is higher. Commenting and resharing seems to happen at a higher rate here (so far.)" ~ Bill Shander
"I've had a Facebook account since 2003. It's time for something more grown up that gives me more control and has a more organic user experience." ~ Sean Cooper
"The clean user interface of Google+, combined with the lack of distracting elements, or so-called features (such as all of the add-on games and apps on FB that clutter up your stream), that I never use, attract me to Google+. This, combined with the Circles feature, choosing who you share with, are the primary draws." ~ Scott Davis
"If Facebook and Twitter had a baby, they'd call it Google+." ~ Olaf Wempe
At the moment, you need to be sent an invite by a friend to join Google+. While this restriction will eventually be lifted, it's best if you ask a friend to send an invite to your Gmail account. You must use a Gmail account to sign up for Google+. Google Apps accounts are currently not supported, though the search giant plans to add support for Google Apps email accounts in the near future.
Once you accept your invite, you are taken to a page where you are asked to create your public Google Profile. Fill in information like your name and your birthday, and you are taken to Google+. If you have already filled out a Google+ Profile in the past, you skip this step and are taken to Google+.
While we go through every single one of Google+'s features step-by-step in this guide, it's always smart to know the basic commands and syntax of Google+. To that end, we have included a Google+ cheat sheet that explains how to mention friends in your posts (like you can already do on Facebook or Twitter), how to bold your text and more.
The following videos, produced by Google, provide a quick introduction to Google+. Check these videos out, then keep reading our guide to learn more about each of Google+'s key features.
Google provides an overview of the entire Google+ project.
Google+ Circles is Google's take on the friend list or the Twitter list.
In this video, Google explores the different settings available on Google+.
Google+ will launch with an Android app. In this video, Google explores the app's features.
Google+ comes with a group video chat feature called Hangouts. This video explains how it works.
In an attempt to get users to share more content, Google+ includes a feature called Sparks. It provides recommended content based on keywords or topics.
In this video, Google talks about the impact of friends and social groups.
Google talks about spontaneous hangouts in this video.
Google introduces Huddle, the company's group-texting feature.
Google+ for mobile includes an instant upload feature for photos and videos. They're uploaded to a private album where they can then be shared from the desktop.
Google talks about exploring interests through Sparks in this video.
Once you have your Google+ account set up, the first thing you should do is fill in your user profile. If you've already created a Google Profile before, that data will automatically be imported to your Google+ Profile — in fact, your Google+ Profile replaces it.
When you first join Google+, it will ask you to enter a few key details, such as your tagline (a brief description of yourself), your employment and your education. It will also ask you to choose a profile photo. Once you set these details, you will have the opportunity to populate your profile with a myriad of other profile details. These include "Introduction," "Bragging rights," "Occupation," "Places lived," "Relationship," "Looking for," "Other names," "Nickname" and "Search visibility." On the right-hand side, you have the opportunity to add links that relate to yourself. Most users add a personal website or blog, as well as their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
While you're on your profile page, you also have the opportunity to change some of your privacy settings. You can allow people to email you from a link on your profile, and you can set this to be public, private or somewhere between using Google+ Circles (explained below).
Your profile also displays who is in your circles, and who has added you to their circles. You can change the privacy settings on the left-hand side of your profile to make this data public or private.
Once you arrive at this screen, click on the "Complete your profile" button at the bottom fo the page.
Quickly fill in information such as your tagline, your employment and upload your profile photo.
There are a lot of different fields you can fill out on your Google+ Profile, but you don't have to fill them all out.
This is what a completed Google+ Profile looks like (I used my profile as an example.
Understanding Circles is essential to mastering Google+. The search giant has opted not to let you simply "friend" your friends, like you do on Facebook, or "follow" different people as you would on Twitter. Instead, Google+ gives you more control over who sees your content.
Circles allows users to drag-and-drop their friends into different friend groups, which categorizes them. This allows you to put your mom in your "Family" circle, your boss in your "Business" circle and your best friend from college in your "Friends" circle. You can create as many circles as you'd like, though making too many becomes cumbersome and diminishes the usefulness of Circles.
To add friends to a circle, all you have to do is drag-and-drop them into the appropriate circle. You can add friends into as many circles as you want. You can also select multiple friends and drag them into a circle. It initially suggests friends based on who's in your Google Contacts, but it also lets you find friends by importing your address book from Yahoo!, Hotmail or your desktop. Removing friends from a circle is simple as well: just drag-and-drop from in the circle to outside the circle.
Clicking on a circle gives you more granular control over adding and removing people. You can also rename your circle, write a short description about it, view the stream for your circle, open your circle in a tab and delete your circle.
So why should you create circles in the first place? The answer is simple: You want to share different things with different friends. You may want to share a risqué photo with your close friends, but share a link about your company's newest hire with just your business network. Google+ Circles gives you the ability to have this kind of control over both what you share and what content pops up in your stream.
The Google+ Circles screen allows you to drag-and-drop your friends into different friend categories.
When you drag a friend over a circle, the circle expands.
This is the message you'll receive the first time you add somebody to a circle.
Clicking on a circle lets you look at all the members of that group, as well as change things such as the membership and the name of the circle.
Here's what Google+ Circles might look like after a few minutes of work.
Facebook users will instantly get the hang of Google+ Stream — it's just a newsfeed of the latest content shared by your circles. This content can be anything from a status update to a photo.
There are a few differences between the Google+ Stream and the Facebook News Feed. Posts by your friends move back to the top based on which post has the most recent comment, though eventually older posts are eventually buried in the stream. Instead of "liking" a post, you can "+1″ a post — this is part of Google's push for the +1 Button. You can also share posts with your circles or mute a post if it's clogging up your stream.
Updating your status is a snap — all you need to do is type some content in the "Share" box at the top of your stream and choose who to share it with. You can share it with the public (all of your followers) or just share it with certain circles. In addition to text, you can share photos, videos, links and your location. Like Facebook, Google+ automatically detects the content of the links you share and allows you to choose a thumbnail from that link.
The left-hand navigation includes a Stream option where you can filter your Google+ Stream. If you want to see posts only from your business network, you just have to click on that circle under the stream. Under the Stream option is a link to Google+ Sparks, which we explain later in this guide. There's also an option to activate Google Chat for your Google+ account.
The right-hand navigation includes a link to manage your circles and a Suggestions section, where Google suggests people to add to your circles, based on who is in your Google Contacts and who your friends are following. Google also lets you start a Google+ Hangout video chat from the right-hand menu (we explain this feature in another section). You can also invite your friends to join you on Google+ from the right-hand nav.
Stumped about what to share first on Google+? Want to find more stuff about your favorite animal or band? Google has you covered with Sparks, a content recommendation engine that finds the most relevant and interesting articles and videos on almost any subject you can imagine. The Spark for Android, for example, contains links and thumbnails from articles about recent Android news.
Google doesn't publish how it determines which content is the most relevant, but we imagine it uses signals from search, Google News, Google+ and others to determine which content is the most relevant algorithmically.
Google provides a list of suggested topics, but you can type in almost any topic that suits your fancy. Some sparks have more content than others, though. You can also "pin" your favorite sparks to your left-hand navigation for easy access at any time. Sparks also lets you directly share the content you find with your circles.
In our opinion, Google+ Hangouts may be the social network's killer feature. It's a novel twist on the traditional group video chat, and it's definitely received a positive reaction from the Google+ community.
Here's how it works: You click on the "Start a hangout" button on the right-hand menu of the Stream. Clicking it opens up a chat window where you can check your mic and choose who will be able to join the hangout (either by inviting individuals or sharing it with your circles). Once the hangout is live, your friends will see the hangout prompt in their stream. They can then join the hangout until a maximum of ten people have joined.
If you've never used Google Talk before, you will have to install a small piece of software before Hangouts works properly.
Google SVP of Social Vic Gundotra compares Hangouts to friends sitting on the porch vs. knocking on a neighbor's door. Few people are willing to knock on a neighbor's door just to start a conversation, but if you see friends sitting on a porch and you walk by, it's almost rude not to drop in and say hi. Gundotra thinks one-on-one video chats are much like knocking on a neighbor's door, while a Google+ Hangout is like friends sitting on a porch.
Once you're in a hangout, you will notice a couple of things. First, you will notice that the video switches from person to person. This is based on who is talking into the microphone. You can hover over a person's video feed and either report them for abuse or "mute" them. Muting someone will mute them for everybody in the hangout, at least until he or she unmutes his or her mic. Users can also mute their video if they wish.
Google+ Hangouts also comes with a group text chat feature (similar to Google Talk). Another cool feature of Hangouts is that users can jointly watch a YouTube video. Settings lets you adjust the mic, camera and other video settings.
Google+ comes with a fully-built photo albums product, powered by the technology behind Picasa (also owned by Google).
Clicking on the Photos tab on the top of your Google+ page will display recent photos uploaded by your friends, as well as how many comments each photo has received. Clicking on any of these photos brings up a photo slideshow with the most recent comments on the right-hand side and photos from your other friends on the bottom.
The slideshow is simple to navigate — click on a picture to bring it up, or click and drag your mouse from side to side to scroll through other pictures. In this slideshow view, you can also tag yourself or a friend in a photo, or check out photo details such as what type of camera was used to capture the photo.
Another section of Photos lets you check out photos in which you've been tagged. This is also the area where you can approve or reject photo tags. No photo will be tagged with your name until you approve it.
The most important feature of Photos, though, is the ability to upload photos and create albums. By clicking the giant "Upload New Photos" button at the top right, you can create a photo album by simply dragging and dropping photos into your browser. Once created, you can share that album with your circles, with individual friends or with the public. Albums remain private until you share them.
Once uploaded, you have the ability to edit your photos right from Google+. The browser-based editor includes simple features such as cross processing, auto contrast and black-and-white effects. You can also rotate the image or delete it entirely.
One more thing: Any photos you upload via the Stream will be added to an album called "Photos from posts," available in the "Your albums" section of the Photos app.
This is the home screen for Google+ Photos. Notice the icon with the number indicating how many comments each photo has received.
Clicking on a photo takes you to this full-sized screen, where you can view the photo, see comments, make a comment and check out other photos from your circles.
Adding photos to Google+ is as simple as drag-and-drop. You can also upload photos from your Android phone, and soon your iPhone.
Google+ comes with a simple image editor for color-based effects. We hope Google will add more Instagram-style effects in the future.
The last time Google treated privacy as a secondary feature, it got burned with a lawsuit. This time around, Google isn't playing games with Google+ and privacy.
In the Google+ settings page (available if you click on the gear icon on the top right of the black bar), you can change all of your privacy settings. From the "Account overview" tab, you can change your password, activate multiple account sign-in (an advanced feature for users with lots of Google accounts) and delete your profile and/or Google account.
The "Profile and privacy" tab is where you can really dig deep into your privacy settings. From here, you can edit the visibility of every part of your profile, manage your circles, change your network visibility, adjust your photo settings, or visit the Google Privacy Center. Google+ also has a feature where you can view your profile as your mom or your friend would see it. This is a useful feature that lets you know for sure if the content you want private is indeed private.
The settings page also has options for editing your email and mobile phone notifications, as well as options for changing the default language and connecting other social accounts to your Google+ profile. The latter feature is designed to improve Google Search more than your Google+ profile.
Finally, Google is walking the walk when it comes to data liberation. As Google data liberation lead Brian Fitzpatrick explained to Mashable, the company believes that if it's to be trusted with more of your social data, it needs to provide users an option for taking that data out hassle-free. That's why you can download your Google+ data, including stream posts, profile data and photos. The export feature is powered by Google Takeout.
Google owns one of the world's most popular mobile operating systems (Android), so it's no surprise that Google+ prominently features its mobile apps. As of July 16, Google+ only has an Android app, although it has a mobile web version and the iOS app is awaiting Apple App Store approval. The iOS app is almost identical to the Android app.
The Google+ mobile apps are relatively straightforward. It comes with five different icons and a notifications bar. The mobile app allows you to access your stream, take and upload photos, view and update your profile and manage your circles.
Two features stand out about the Google+ mobile apps. The first is a feature called "Huddle," which is essentially a group texting feature not unlike GroupMe or Beluga. It allows you to put a group of your friends together so you can send and receive group texts.
The second unique feature of Google+'s mobile apps is something called "Instant Upload." The Instant Upload feature automatically takes the pictures you take and syncs them with your desktop. This makes it dead-simple for you to share photos you upload when you get home. These photos are uploaded into a private album you can manage and share at your convenience.
As mentioned before, Google+ also has a mobile interface that allows you to post updates, check what your circles are posting, comment and +1 your friends' posts, and update your location. We expect Google to add more to Google+'s mobile apps as it improves the service.
Google+ already has a lot of users, so it makes sense that businesses would want to get in on some of the action. Several businesses are already on Google+, including Mashable, Ford, CBS News and others.
But hold on! Before you start making your company's Google+ account, there are a few things you should know. The most important thing is this: Google doesn't want businesses creating Google+ profiles yet. The search giant announced on July 6 that it would be creating a platform for businesses, but that it would take some time to build.
The result is that the future of businesses and brands on Google+ has yet to be determined. Google could choose to delete all business entities, or it may transfer the followers of existing businesses to brand new business accounts. The search giant is accelerating the development of Google+ for businesses and will begin beta testing in the next few weeks.
We will update this guide as we learn more about Google+ for businesses.
Google refers to Google+ as a project because it believes it's far from finished. The product is only a few weeks old and it has a lot of bugs that still need to be fixed.
We do expect two Google+ features to launch in the near future, though. The first one is a Questions feature that will let users poll their friends, much like Quora or Facebook Questions.
The second and more interesting product is Google+ Games, a product rumored to be in development ever since Google invested $100+ million in Zynga, the creators of FarmVille and other social games. Google+'s code has multiple references to Google+ Games, so we expect it's only a matter of time until Empires & Allies makes its Google debut.
Most of all, expect Google's social network to evolve as it tries to meet user requests and sets its sights on Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the social media universe.
To help you get started on your Google+ journey, we've included a full list of Mashable staff members that are actively using Google+. In addition, you can follow Mashable News for the latest social media, technology and digital news from around the world. We look forward to engaging with you!
+Ada Ospina – NYC Office Manager
+Adam Hirsch – COO
+Adam Ostrow – Editor in Chief
+Amy-Mae Elliott – Features Writer
+Andrew Reedman – U.S. Director of Sales
+Ben Parr – Editor at Large
+Brenna Ehrlich – Associate Editor of Media & Entertainment
+Brian Anthony Hernandez – Copy Editor
+Brian Dresher Director of Business Development
+Brie Manakul – Ad Ops Manager
+Charlie White – Senior Editor
+Chelsea Stark – Community Intern
+Christina Warren – Mobile and Development & Design Reporter
+Connie Preti – Community Intern
+Emily Banks – Assistant News Editor
+Erica Swallow – Partner Content Associate Editor
+Frederick Townes – CTO
+Jennifer Van Grove – Startups Reporter
+Josh Catone – Features Editor
+Karen Hartline – Events Director
+Kate Hayden – Events Assistant
+Lauren Drell – Partner Content Assistant Editor
+Lauren Indvik – Marketing & Media Associate Editor
+Louis Dorman – Art Director
+Matt Silverman – Associate Features Editor
+Meghan Peters – Community Manager
+Pete Cashmore – Founder and CEO
+Robyn Peterson – Senior VP of Product
+Sana Ahmed – Executive Assistant
+Sarah Kessler – Startups Reporter
+Sharon Feder – Publisher
+Stacy Green – Communications Director
+Stefanie Rennert – HR Manager
+Stephanie Buck - Editorial Intern
+Stephanie Haberman – Community Assistant
+Tamar Weinberg – Community and Global Advertising
+Tanya Salah – West Coast Sales Director
+Todd Olmstead – Community Intern
+Todd Wasserman – Business and Marketing Editor
+Zachary Sniderman – Social Good Assistant Editor
+Zoe Fox – Social Good Intern
The following is a collection of Mashable's top resources on Google+. We will update this list on a regular basis:
1) Google Launches Google+ To Battle Facebook [PICS]
3) The Google+ Cheat Sheet [PIC]
5) 5 Chrome Extensions That Improve Google+
6) What's In a Name: Google+ Is Your Plus One
7) A Closer Look at Google's Facebook Competitor [VIDEOS]
8) HOW TO: Upload iPhone Photos to Google+
9) 10 Top Google+ Users Weigh In on the Web's Newest Social Network
10) Zuckerberg on Google+: It's a Validation of Facebook's Vision
11) Can Google+ Sustain Growth Beyond Early Adopters?
12) HOW TO: Make a Google+ Desktop App
More About: facebook, Feature, Google, Google Plus, Guide, social media, social networking, trending, twitter
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Google+ hit the news feeds like a strategic and popular ton of bricks. But we haven't stopped there. In addition to breaking news, Mashable has provided how-tos and tools for maximizing your Google+ experience. We've sourced reviews from some of the network's early adopters, and we've also welcomed your input as you navigate one of the most buzzworthy social outlets of the year.
Read on for Mashable's roundup of all resources Google+. Gather tips, analyze reviews, participate in polls and, as always, voice your thoughts in the comments below.
This is the Google+ logo.
The Google+ icons. Starting top left and circling to the right: Circles, Hangouts, Home, Sparks, Profile, Photos.
All Google sites will sport the new Google+ navigation bar. It includes notifications, profile information and content sharing options.
This is the Google+ Stream, where users share content and see what their friends are sharing. It is similar to the Facebook News Feed.
Google+ Circles is Google's version of the Facebook friend list or the Twitter List. Users can select multiple friends and drag-and-drop them into groups. This makes it easier to send stuff to friends, family or the entire world.
This is the Google+ Circles editor in action. Google has created unique animations for adding and removing friends through HTML5.
Google+ Sparks is Google's content recommendation and discovery engine. Users can search different topics and find relevant articles, videos and photos. Users can then share that content with their friends.
Google+ has a unique video chat feature called Hangouts, which lets you chat with up to 10 people at the ame time.
Google+ allows you to upload and share photos with your friends. It includes photo tagging and a simple browser-based image editor.
Google+ Profiles are like most profile pages -- it includes basic information about the user like interests, occupation and profile photos.
More About: Google, Google Plus, List, Lists, resources, roundup, social media, tips
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Ever since it's launch on June 28, the tech community has been rushing to join Google+ — and Mashable staffers are no exception.
We're learning how to use the newest social network right along with you, and would love to interact with you there. We'll be posting Mashable stories, tidbits about what we're working on and asking for feedback about the platform.
Here's a list of individual Mashable employees using Google+ that you can add to your circles. You can also follow Mashable News. We look forward to engaging with you there!
+Ada Ospina – NYC Office Manager
+Adam Hirsch – COO
+Adam Ostrow – Editor in Chief
+Amy-Mae Elliott – Features Writer
+Andrew Reedman – U.S. Director of Sales
+Ben Parr – Editor at Large
+Brenna Ehrlich – Associate Editor of Media & Entertainment
+Brian Anthony Hernandez – Copy Editor
+Brian Dresher Director of Business Development
+Brie Manakul – Ad Ops Manager
+Charlie White – Senior Editor
+Chelsea Stark – Community Intern
+Christina Warren – Mobile and Development & Design Reporter
+Connie Preti – Community Intern
+Emily Banks – Assistant News Editor
+Erica Swallow – Partner Content Associate Editor
+Frederick Townes – CTO
+Jennifer Van Grove – Startups Reporter
+Josh Catone – Features Editor
+Karen Hartline – Events Director
+Kate Hayden – Events Assistant
+Lauren Drell – Partner Content Assistant Editor
+Lauren Indvik – Marketing & Media Associate Editor
+Louis Dorman – Art Director
+Matt Silverman – Associate Features Editor
+Meghan Peters – Community Manager
+Pete Cashmore – Founder and CEO
+Robyn Peterson – Senior VP of Product
+Sana Ahmed – Executive Assistant
+Sarah Kessler – Startups Reporter
+Sharon Feder – Publisher
+Stacy Green – Communications Director
+Stefanie Rennert – HR Manager
+Stephanie Buck - Editorial Intern
+Stephanie Haberman – Community Assistant
+Tamar Weinberg – Community and Global Advertising
+Tanya Salah – West Coast Sales Director
+Todd Olmstead – Community Intern
+Todd Wasserman – Business and Marketing Editor
+Zachary Sniderman – Social Good Assistant Editor
+Zoe Fox – Social Good Intern
More About: Google, Google Circles, staff
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Google+ has launched to great aplomb, but its "project" status means some tools have yet to be developed. While Google works on adding more features, some available Chrome extensions can fill the functionality gap.
Whether you want to get better notifications, enjoy improved sharing options, or scroll through your stream more quickly, there's an extension available — for free — to help.
Take a look through the gallery for five tried and tested picks that will help you be more productive on Plus. Let us know in the comments about other Chrome Extensions you've found useful — they may end up in a future gallery.
A simple but useful option, this extension adds a counter to your Google+ page tab so you can see at a glance how many new posts you have to view.
Simple and very unobtrusive, this extension adds more shortcuts, as well as offering one-press "+1" options, when a post is highlighted you can press "e" to expand all the comments or "s" for quick sharing options.
This extension has tweaked search and also lets you share to Twitter. Helper gives you desktop notifications for new Google+ posts with a little pop-up window or an audio alert option. There's also a "translate" button, which some may find useful.
If your stream is busy, then this extension will save you some precious scrolling time. It automatically hides all comments on a post, reducing the on-screen info to a simple comment tally (which you can choose to expand if you wish.)
This handy extension expands your sharing options. It adds a "Share on..." button that gives you the ability to quickly and easily share a Plus post to Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
More About: chrome, Chrome Extensions, Google, google chrome, Google Lists, Google Plus, Google Plus Lists, List
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Are you loving Google+? Have you yet to secure an invite? Or are you already fed up with the hype, and fear social networking overload? If you're in the latter camp, then we have a treat for you.
We've found five funny videos that offer a comedic look at the new service. They include some classic memes updated for the occasion and some spoof walk-throughs that will definitely make you smile, if not laugh out loud.
Have a look through the video gallery below (which contains a bit of NSFW language), and let us know in the comments which spoofs you found amusing.
This is genius. No spoilers, but if you watch one parody video on Google+, we urge you to make it this one.
Dmitri's journey of discovery continues as he's informed of the launch of the new tool and what it means for online privacy. His joy is, of course, evident.
Did you think you were all cutting-edge with your Google+ invite? Well, Google Minus is the new Plus.
In addition to its hilarious voiceover, this includes new footage separate from the original promo video.
It just had to be done (and it has been several times, but this version is our favorite) if only for the line spoken before the majority of the group leaves the room.
More About: gallery, Google, Google Plus, Lists, parody, spoofs, videos
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Take Facebook's video chat launch — we'll guide you in setting it up. Or the space shuttle launch — we provide the Twitter accounts for dozens of astronauts and space experts. And Google+ has been on the minds of millions — we present its pros and cons. Mashable not only releases breaking news, we help you learn how to apply it to your business, your interests and your personal life.
If spare time for reading didn't exactly factor into your busy week, here's a roundup of resources that appeared on Mashable.
For more social media news and resources, you can follow Mashable's social media channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
For more tech news and resources, follow Mashable's tech channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
For more business news and resources, you can follow Mashable's business channel on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Image courtesy of Webtreats
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We've scoured the profiles, Twitter accounts and blogs of the top Google+ users that aren't Google employees or Mr. Zuckerberg. You might be surprised to read their thoughts and reviews of the recent social networking phenomenon.
Do you agree with what they have to say, standing atop their invitation-only soapboxes? Let us know in the comments below.
Tech blogger Robert Scoble ranks #5 on the most-followed Google+ list. This week he posted a link to Cinch in which he interviews his wife Maryam about her hesitations to join Google+.
She says: "I have only so many minutes during the day, and the minutes that I choose to waste I like to waste on Facebook. Why do I have to go somewhere else, be lonely by myself and waste time when I can be on Facebook like everybody else? ... If within a year, I see that a lot of family and friends are there, and they're doing things I cannot do on Facebook...then I'll probably get on Google+, but that's far away from now."
Robert Scoble himself posted some thoughts to his Google+ profile:
"Google+ sometimes removes me from following someone that I know I already followed. This has happened dozens of times now, so I think it's a bug but I haven't figured out a pattern to it."
"Even with all of its noise, Google+'s feed is 600x more interesting than my Google Buzz feed. Why? No Tweets. All organically added stuff."
"I'm getting more engagement here than anywhere else."
"The speed of notifications and new items here doesn't match Twitter, yet, but blows away Facebook's speed."
"The Google+ mobile experience on web is quite nice. I am using Google+ exclusively this weekend on Safari on iPhone. Yes, it is missing lots, like I dont see a way to upload photos. But the UI and your posts are great looking ... This week I will be using G+ on Android, which is a lot better."
As the co-founder of Digg and Milk, Kevin Rose isn't the most active Google+ user yet, but he certainly has an opinion about the service. Here are some of his thoughts we found on Twitter:
"just started using Google+, i get it.. just not sure if I need it.."
"liking Google plus, hoping the Sparks get better / more news integration, those could be powerful"
Pulled from a longer post by Rose: "Where does Google+ fit in my life?...Feedback Loop: +1's next to everything give me a way to acknowledge others for their contributions...Realtime data: Seeing comments appear Quora style (as they are happening) is fun...What happened to 140 characters? This post will reach a wider audience than posting it on kevinrose.com...I might replace my blog w/G+ if it bring more traffic and sharing."
The TechCrunch writer shares his reactions to Google+ on both the site itself and his Twitter:
"If only Google+ had search..."
"The Google+ photo uploader is pretty great. Fast."
"Yep, the G+ realtime comment sections are pretty great."
"All I know for sure is that Google+ needs to figure out a way not to have comments boost an old story back to the top of the stream. Makes everything feel very stale, even though it makes some sense to do this. FriendFeed battled with this issue as well, but there was more data constantly flowing in due to Twitter imports, etc."
"Whether or not Google+ succeeds remains to be seen, obviously. But they're adding a sh*t ton amount of users like I've never seen before."
"Whereas previously 90% of the talk on Google+ was about Google+, now it looks like only 75% or so is. That's good, but it needs to keep dropping fast."
Coder and blogger Gina Trapani is the most-followed woman on Google+. She shares her thoughts via the site and her blog.
"I'm fine with comments from strangers on public posts (though I'm a blogger first, so very used to that). However, the fact that strangers can start Huddles render that feature useless for me. Otherwise, an interesting take on Google's social effort from a Facebooker."
"Is it possible to enjoy the Circles interface TOO much?"
"I've been been watching Google flail around social web apps for a few years now, so what I appreciate most about Google+ is that it's a well-thought out product informed by past experience. The more I use Google+, the more I see just how many lessons Google learned from Wave and Buzz..."
Tom Anderson, creator of MySpace, uses his Google+ profile to pose questions about the product. He's generated thought-provoking discussions about the features of the site and released his own views as well:
"Analyst video about Google+ — suggests Google won't disrupt FB or Twitter, that the cost to build/retain engineers has been a big hit to Google's bottom line, and monetization is unclear. Suggests Facebook gets social search ... He seems to be missing that Google+ has already integrated +1 and Twitter into search ..."
"I've also noticed that my own 'circle' count is quite different than what I see on my circles page (like it's showing I'm 3,000 and I actually have 6,000). Guess there's some lag between counts/dbs."
"If you're following a huge user (like MG [Siegler]) and he chooses to upload 500 photos (go MG!) then you're stream is going to be inundated till the end of time with people commenting on his photos. You can "mute" the sharing of his album, but each photo is its own item, and thus you'd have to mute each photo as it comes up with its first comment, right? Am I missing something here? I know the potential for feed noise is crazy on Google+ right now, but this example seems nuts. It really seems like Google+ will have to provide a "sort by post date," at the very least."
"Google+ does seem like it could take a bite out of Twitter - it seems to let you do what Twitter does (but maybe better), and it definitely lets you commmunicate with your followers in a more normal fashion (not stuck with 140 character DMs)."
CUNY professor and blogger Jeff Jarvis sounded off on Google+ pros and cons on his blog:
"To paraphrase Mark Zuckerberg, it is too soon to know what Google+ is. But I've been trying to imagine how it will and won't be useful to news. You should add rock salt to anything I say, as I thought Google Wave would be an important journalistic tool."
"Note this good news: Google+ made 'ranking changes ... that demote such comments if the commenter is not in your circles.' That's a good start. I still want the option of a feed of only latest posts, regardless of comment timing."
"RWW looks at how Google+ could be useful in teaching. +Rebecca MacKinnon sees potential. So do I."
"I REALLY want to be able to embed links in posts here. That alone makes this far inferior to blogs and even Twitter for writing pieces with responsible linking."
"This whole notion that one can/should be able to "disable reshare" is setting a treacherous precedent for the rest of the web. Will news organizations tell me I can't share their story? We never had the expectation until G+ gave it to us. Don't go too far with it, friends."
Founder of Seesmic and LeWeb conference, Loic Le Meur reviews Google+ on his Twitter account:
"I wish google did circles for just gmail contacts too, I would totally use them, wouldn't you?"
"Testing the google plus app on samsung tab honeycomb, not optimized but it works"
"What's my incoming stream? Anyone who added me in a circle? I don't get it"
"So, if I do a circle "assholes" and add people in them, they won't even be able to know I tagged them that way? That's disappointing :-)"
"Google+ is entirely streaming, no delay, all push, no reloading a page or clicking anywhere, that's way cool."
"Google+ might hit Twitter more than Facebook, it's so clean..."
"okay, I'm more and more impressed by Google+, I think it's a real competitor to Facebook in the making."
"One thing that frustrates me with G+ is that I don't have a stream of every feedback I get: plusses and comments, see all interactions only. Do you not?"
Actress and gamer Felicia Day uses some humor to review Google+ on the site and her Twitter account:
"Lots of appealing features in Google+. Can't wait to see what Twitter updates next to counter."
"WHOAH when can you collapse comments? The train gets crazy-sauce long in the feed!"
"This service is confusing! I'm part of people's circles but I didn't agree to be in them, I don't know who I'm sharing with and how ... eeep! Trying to figure out how to use it more like Twitter than involuntary Facebook groups. #1: Email notifications OFF!"
Markus Persson is the founder and game developer at Mojang, creators of the indie gaming megahit Minecraft.
"Dear Google+, I want to be able to have public circles that people can join. That way, I can post to the "wants to know about Minecraft" circle when I want to talk about Minecraft without having to invite every single fan out there manually."
"Holy moly, I have like 2200 followers! (but my profile page seems to be stuck at 191)."
"Dear Google+, I want to be able to have public circles that people can join. That way, I can post to the 'wants to know about Minecraft' circle when I want to talk about Minecraft without having to invite every single fan out there manually...Or let me tag posts."
Twit.tv technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte reserves precious space on his phone's home screen for a Google+ widget. Here are some reviews Leo Laporte posted on his Google+ profile:
"It's really hard to remember that G+ is still in closed beta. I was going to talk about it on KFI this morning, but I don't think it's a good idea to sing the praises of something most people can't access."
Laporte quotes a Wired article by Steven Levy: "Emerald Sea is not a Facebook killer, Gundotra told me. In fact, he added, somewhat puckishly, 'people are barely tolerant of the Facebook they have,' citing a consumer satisfaction study that rated it barely higher than the IRS. Instead, he says, the transformation will offer people a better Google." Laporte responds, "I'd say they're well on their way to succeeding."
"Google+ earned a spot on my phone's home page. Two actually. Replacing Facebook and Beluga."
Image courtesy of Flickr, halilgokdal
More About: facebook, Google, Google Plus, reviews, social media, social networking, top 100, twitter, users
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The website is operated by Slide, a social gaming company that Google acquired last year. Prizes.org allows users to create "contests" where they post questions or tasks. The user can then award a cash prize to the best answer received.
Users may ask for trip-planning assistance, advice on naming a startup, best product for infants, etc. Each post contains a time allotment for forum feedback, during which time visitors vote on the best advice submitted. The user who gains the most votes wins the cash, often a $10 to $50 prize.
At the moment, Prizes.org requires a Facebook or Twitter sign-in to participate. However, curious users can view the contest lineup here, where many posts nonetheless require logins.
The website features little Google branding; however, the privacy link on the homepage reveals a standard Google privacy agreement. Slide has been quietly releasing other products without Google branding, including group-texting app Disco.
[via Geek.com]
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If you've used Google at all on Thursday, you probably saw the Google Doodle tribute to guitarist Les Paul. Chances are many hours of productivity at offices around the world have been lost to Google's interactive toy that puts 10 guitar notes at your fingertips.
Mashable readers have filled the comments of our earlier post on the doodle with their own recordings — an option only available in the U.S. version. Here are some of our favorite tunes:
Creating a Google Doodle song isn't as hard as it looks. Searches on the Twitter hashtag #GoogleDoodle brought back plenty of people typing out the keyboard arrangements for popular songs. Gretchen Vaughn even made a compilation of songs and tutorials using Storify.
Since it looked so easy, I even tried my hand at playing "The Imperial March" from Star Wars.
Thanks to all those who submitted their Google Doodle songs!
Which of these tunes is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below, and feel free to post yours.
BONUS: Check out the Top 10 Animated Google Doodles, embedded below.
Each package gets larger with a mouse-over, and a click on it returns search results pertinent to a specific country or the particular items featured in a scene. This one is from December 24, 2010.
The Google Doodle team stars in an homage to the silent film era's greatest star's 122nd birthday, April 15, 2011.
This one's done in HTML5 and was published Sept. 7, 2010. To get the full effect, here's one you can interact with.
This Doodle commemorated John Lennon's 70th birthday in October 2010.
Debuting May 10, 2011, this Google Doodle marks dance choreographer Martha Graham's birthday.
Commemorated the birthday of the inventor of the Bunsen burner, German chemist Robert Bunsen on March 31, 2011.
The great inventor's birthday was honored on February 11, 2011.
Marking Independence Day 2010.
A real crowd pleaser was this playable Pac-Man game, which appeared on May 21. 2010. Here's a playable version.
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If you're a new user, you might want to fill up your Reader with interesting feeds. If that's the case, make sure you don't overlook feed bundles, which you can add by clicking on "Browse for stuff" in the upper left-hand menu. Here you can browse through featured feed bundles, bundles from your friends or recommended feeds from users with similar interests as you.
Once you've populated the Reader with enough feeds that interest you, it's time to start organizing them.
The simplest ways to organize feeds is by creating folders. Click on the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner and choose Settings — Folders and Tags. Create as many folders as you'd like; for example, you might want to create a special folder for very important feeds, or create a folder for each subcategory of news you're following, such as "tech," "business," and so forth.
Now, instead of always clicking on "All items," you can read the feeds from each individual subcategory separately.
To move a feed from folder to folder, select it and click on the Feed settings drop-down menu, then click on the name of an individual folder to move the feed there.
A lot of users just fire up Google Reader, add some feeds and then stop tweaking and optimizing. However, if you subscribe to a lot of feeds, Google Reader can actually help you get rid of the ones you're not interested in and focus on those which are important to you.
The best way to do this is to use Trends, located in the upper-left corner of the Google Reader screen. Click on it and you'll see a lot of statistics on how you use your feeds. For example, you can see which feeds you click on and read often, as well as which ones you share and email the most. You can also check out which feeds are frequently updated and which are almost completely inactive.
If you find that you don't use certain feeds at all, or that they've become inactive, you can get rid of them by clicking on the trash can icon next to the feeds in Trends. You can also erase active feeds that you rarely read or share.
If you frequently add new feeds to your Google Reader, you can repeat this process every few months.
Did you know that Google Reader supports keyboard shortcuts? The mouse can only take you so far; power users will definitely want to remember some of these as they can make the process of skimming through hundreds of feeds much more efficient.
Here's a list of some of the most useful shortcuts supported in Google Reader.
j/k – selects the next/previous item in the list
space/shift-space – moves the page down/up
n/p – in list view, selects the next item without opening it
o – in list view, expands or collapses the selected item
enter – in list view, expands or collapses the selected item
s – stars the selected item
shift-s – shares the selected item
m – switches the read state of the selected item
t – opens the tagging field for the selected item
v – opens the original source for this article in a new window
shift-a – marks all items in the current view as read
1 – displays the subscription as expanded items
2 – displays the subscription as a list of headlines
r – refreshes the unread counts in the navigation
shift-n/p – selects the next/previous subscription or folder in the navigation
shift-x – expand or collapse a folder selected in the navigation
shift-o – opens the item currently selected in the navigation
gh – goes to the Google Reader homepage
ga – goes to the "All items" view
gs – goes to the "Starred items" view
gt – allows you to navigate to a tag by entering the tag name
gu – allows you to navigate to a subscription by entering the subscription name
u – hides and shows the list of subscriptions
? – displays a quick guide to all of Reader's shortcuts
Over the years, Google has been adding little tweaks and improvements to Google Reader, and it's hard even for power users to remember all the options it offers. Here are a few lesser known options you might want to check out.
Sorting by magic: Click a feed, and select "Sort by magic" from the "Feed settings" drop-down menu. Instead of giving you the newest items first, this feature reorders the items in your unread feed based on your own past reading history and overall activity inside the Reader.
Next bookmarklet: For a really quick and easy way to browse through your feeds, Google has included the "Next bookmarklet" in its Settings page (under the "Goodies" tab). Just drag it to your bookmarks bar, and each time you click on it, it will take you to the next unread item, marking it as read in the process.
Note in reader: Similarly to the "Next" bookmarklet, Google provides a "Note in reader" bookmarklet on the same page, which lets you share items from a webpage with your followers in Google Reader with one click.
More About: feed, Google, google reader, how to, News, rss, social media
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Gmail's "Labs" features, brought to you by the experiments of Google staffers, is one of our favorite parts of the webmail service.
While some Labs features, such as the great Mail "Beer" Goggles are fun, others can seriously up your productivity levels with time-saving shortcuts, clever tricks and useful add-ons.
To activate Gmail Labs features and choose the ones you'd like to use, click the settings icon in the top right-hand corner of Gmail and select Labs.
We're highlighting eight great Labs options that will speed up your Gmail experience. Check out the gallery below, and if you're looking for some "vanilla" Gmail tips, tricks and shortcuts, we've got you covered there, too.
You can already search Google from Gmail, but this option shows search results inside your mail window. It's great for quick reference while you're composing emails. Activating this Labs feature creates a small Google search box on the left of your screen while the results are shown in a pop-up on the bottom right.
Described as "email for the truly lazy," this is a mega time-saver. If you find yourself typing the same kind of email response time and time again, you can save it down to be pasted into an email body with just a few clicks.
Simple but useful, this adds a mini Google Calendar on the left-hand side of your screen, allowing you to see upcoming events at-a-glance, and saving you from loading the full-fat Calendar. A similar option is also available for Google Docs.
Activate this and you can preview an email by right-clicking on it, saving tons of time loading an entire message that you don't need to read.
This will save you from clicking on your Gmail tab to see if you have new mail. It changes the order of the characters in the page's title from Gmail - Inbox (20) - email@example.com to Inbox (20) - firstname.lastname@example.com - Gmail. This means the unread message count is more visible, even if you're working with many browser tabs open.
This is a great one for Windows users, and will save you time if you get the hang of it. Holding down right-click and moving the mouse to the left will take you to a previous conversation, moving it to the right to go to the next conversation, and moving it up will take you back to the inbox.
This is yet another ace feature, especially for anyone who often searches for particular parameters in Gmail. Quick Links adds a box to the left of your screen in which you can create one-click searches. It's also helpful for seeing only your unread inbox messages. Search for label:unread label:inbox and make it a Quick Link for easy access. You'll wonder how you ever lived without this handy feature.
Finally, another simple but effective feature can be found in Background Send. As the title suggests, it sends your mails in the background, returning you to your inbox a lot faster so you can tackle the next task on your list without slowing down.
More About: email, gmail, gmail labs, Google, software, tips and tricks
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The second Sunday in May is when the United States, Canada and a great many other countries around the world honor their mothers, celebrate motherhood and thank moms for all they do.
Since 2000 Google has marked the occasion every year with one of its infamous Google "Doodles," transforming the classic homepage to a tribute to moms everywhere.
We've looked back this Mothering Sunday over a decade of mom-themed Doodles. Take a look through our gallery below and let us know which Doodle you'd like to dedicate to your mom in the comments below or via one of the share options to the top left.
For this year, Google goes with a lovely yet simple design.
Last year saw a great Google homepage for the United States made up of quirky glass vases...
...While the rest of the world enjoyed a tulip-themed effort.
The logo was pretty in pink in 2009 with a lovely bunch of blooms making up the "l."
This sweet scene sees a mother duck and two chicks decorating the famous logo.
Children's hand-drawn pictures are a cute touch on 2007's Mother's Day Doodle.
Google said it with roses and entwined "os" back in '06.
The search giant keeps the floral theme going in 2005.
A single pink rose adorns 2004's offering.
Another Mother's Day, another vase of posies, again neatly taking the place of the "l."
A single red rose was Google's offering to moms everywhere in 2002.
The original Mother's Day Google Doodle appeared in the year 2000 and remained unchanged the next year. It linked to a tribute page to the then Googler's moms.
And here is a grab of part of that page, still live today at Google.com/moms. With the sweet statement that "no search could find better moms than these," Google illustrated the lyrics of Howard Johnson's song M-O-T-H-E-R with portraits. Aw!
More About: design, galleries, gallery, Google, google doodles, List, Lists, logo design, logos, mothering sunday, mothers day
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The average YouTube user spends between 15 and 25 minutes a day on the site, but how much do we know about the world's largest video sharing website? Do you know what the most watched YouTube clip is? Can you name all three founders? Do you know how many times per minute a YouTube link is tweeted?
There is a ton of interesting data, info and stats to be learned about YouTube — we've delved deep to find 10 fascinating facts. Have a read and let us know which ones you didn't know in the comments below.
YouTube was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in 2005. The three founders knew each other from working together at another Internet start up, PayPal. In fact, Hurley designed the PayPal logo after reading a Wired article about the online payment company and e-mailing the startup in search of a job. YouTube was initially funded by bonuses received following the eBay buy-out of PayPal. You could argue that if there was no PayPal, there would be no YouTube.
The founding trio didn't come up with the YouTube concept straight away. Legend has it that YouTube began life as a video dating site dubbed "Tune In Hook Up," said to be influenced by HotorNot. The three ultimately decided not to go that route. The inspiration for YouTube as we know it today is credited to two different events. The first was Karim's inability to find footage online of Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction," and the second when Hurley and Chen were unable to share video footage of a dinner party due to e-mail attachment limitations.
The domain name YouTube.com was registered on Valentine's Day in 2005. This, however, caused a huge misunderstanding for Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment based in Perrysburg, Ohio. Its company domain, "utube.com," was overwhelmed with traffic from people that tried to spell the video site's name phonetically. The manufacturing company sued YouTube claiming its business was damaged by the video site, but the claims were dismissed. Nowadays, it seems Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment has bowed to the inevitable — its business site has been moved to utubeonline.com and the original utube.com is a video-themed landing page for bad spellers.
The first video to ever be uploaded to YouTube isn't a classic by any means. Shot by Yakov Lapitsky at the San Diego Zoo it shows co-founder Jawed Karim in front of the elephant enclosure going on about long trunks. It has, nonetheless, racked up a very healthy 4,282,497 views since its online debut on April 23, 2005.
The first instance of a "Rickroll" appeared on YouTube way back in 2007. Apparently, it is the evolution of a 4chan prank that originally "duckrolled" users via links that led to a duck on wheels. Now a classic in its own right, the Rickroll has become what must be the most common online practical joke. Back in 2008, at the height of the phenomenon, a SurveyUSA poll suggested over 18 million U.S. adults had been Rickrolled — perhaps more, given that Rick Astley himself participated in a mass-Rickrolling in that year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Although Rickrolling has perhaps now had its day, we imagine that figure has easily doubled.
For the last three years YouTube has pranked its millions of users every April Fools Day. The first was a classic — every video on the site's homepage was actually a Rickroll. In 2009 YouTube turned the site upside down and in 2010 an attempt to reduce bandwidth costs saw a "TEXTp" mode introduced, which translated colors in the videos into text. We can't wait to see what YouTube has in store for 2011.
As of February 2011, YouTube has 490 million unique users worldwide per month, who rack up an estimated 92 billion page views each month. We spend around 2.9 billion hours on YouTube in a month — over 325,000 years. And those stats are just for the main YouTube website — they don't incorporate embedded videos or video watched on mobile devices.
Social media-related YouTube stats are just as impressive. YouTube says that on average there are more than 400 tweets per minute containing a YouTube link. Meanwhile, over on Facebook over 150 years worth of YouTube videos are watched every single day.
Not counting music videos (which due to licensing restrictions are often shown only in the U.S. on YouTube), the most viewed video of all time is the classic "Charlie bit my finger," with an astounding 282,151,886 (at the time of writing). When you include music videos from the U.S.-only VEVO site, then the crown goes to Justin Beiber, whose "Baby" video has over 466 million views and counting.
Did you know you can view the "YouTube Charts" at any time to see continually updated info about what's popular?
YouTube has a fun Easter egg that will let you play a Snake-esque game within the video window. The clip above will give you a demo, but it's simple to execute if you're keen to try it out. Head over to YouTube, click on a recent video from any category, pause it and then hit the left and up arrow keys at the same time. Enjoy!
- 10 Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Google
- 10 Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Apple
- 10 Fun Microsoft Facts You Might Not Know
- 10 Fascinating Facebook Facts
- 10 Entertaining eBay Facts You Might Not Know
Image courtesy of codenamecueball
More About: facts, Google, Lists, paypal, trending, vevo, video, youtube
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Since Google released its searchable word frequency database this month, it's been used to consider everything from race in the 20th century to the classic chicken vs. egg debate.
The Books Ngram Viewer pulls together data from almost 5.2 million digitized books that were written between 1500 and 2008. Users can search for words and short phrases to see how often and when they appeared throughout history.
As many a linguist has pointed out, word frequency doesn't necessarily reflect culture. But that didn't stop us from playing around with what is possibly the most addicting nerd tool of the year to map out a brief history of tech.
You would think there would be a "technology" spike around mainstream electricity use, but it looks like "technology" only started getting the word usage it deserves in the computer age.
It seems that television didn't so much kill the radio star as it did bring him to about its level.
Personally, I am devastated that the robot discussion peak appears to have passed.
People write more about programs than the machines they run on.
Literature loves Bill.
Ngram is case sensitive, so sentences that start with "apple" could be included in what we read as the computer company's name.
How many years before we write about Windows and Linux with equal frequency?
Literature references seem to reflect market share, though Safari did get a bit of a boost from its homonym.
Before Google, search engines usually existed within web portals like Yahoo. Yahoo actually used Google search results until 2004.
Books started to discuss social media around the same time as Twitter.
The Internet may love cats, but it looks like authors of non-digital content prefer to talk about dogs.
- 11 Astounding Sci-Fi Predictions That Came True
- 8 Educational Gadgets That Make Learning Fun
- 10 Cool Tech Toys for Kids [PICS]
- HOW TO: Get Started With Your New Roku Player
- 5 Predictions for Online Data in 2011
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, FreezeFrameStudio
More About: books, charts, Google, google books, graphs, history, List, Lists, Ngram, tech
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These 10 features will help you get so much more out of the webmail service, from an enhanced chat experience, to smarter filters, to offline access.
Have a read through now and let us know any neat Gmail hints you'd like to share in the comments box below.
Gmail's instant messaging Chat function is one of the more basic options around, but there are a few bits of formatting you can use to add nuance to your online communication.
To bold a word, asterisk it like this: *Mashable*
To add italics, just underscore before and after the word like this: _Mashable_
And to strike a word through, add hyphens before and after like so: -Mashable-
You've no doubt noticed the "Web Clips" line of text that appears above your Gmail inbox which contains news, blog posts, ads and other info. But did you know you can personalize it to make it more relevant to you?
Simply go to "Settings" on the top right of your screen and select the "Web Clips" tab. From there, you can search, browse from the categories, and add and remove items to your heart's content.
Although technically you only have one Gmail address, you can create as many variations of it as you wish to help manage your incoming mail.
You can do this by adding a word after your name with a plus sign (if the site you're entering the address into allows it). So, email@example.com, email@example.com, and so on.
This alias system then comes into its own if you also set up filters to direct those messages where you want them. For example, they could skip the inbox and be archived, have a label applied, be forwarded to another account, and so on.
To set up a filter, go to "Settings," hit the "Filters" tab, select "Create New Filter" and follow the simple steps from there.
This is a useful option for anyone on the go, as it allows you to access your Gmail account when you're not connected to the web. You can search, read and compose e-mails when you're not in a Wi-Fi zone, and Gmail will simply auto-update (and send/receive any new mail) when you next reconnect.
To set up your Gmail to be available when you're offline, you have to download Google Gears, but it's a simple process from within Gmail. Head over to your "Settings" menu, hit the "Offline" tab, and check the option to "Enable Offline Mail for this computer."
Once you save the changes, Gmail will auto-prompt you through the process and even gives you the option to create a desktop shortcut for quick access to Gmail when offline.
Gmail handily saves your chat history for conversations with other Gmail users and makes them searchable too (use the search term "is:chat" to look for a keyword term). But there might be times you want to chat and not have it recorded.
To chat "off the record," open a chat window with whom you want to talk, click on the "Actions" drop down menu and select "Go off the record." The person you're chatting with will be notified of this change, and you can go back on the record in the same way.
Gmail offers a free Notifier as a quick download that will alert you with a visual pop-up and audio cue when new mail has arrived, even if you don't have Gmail open in a browser.
It automatically checks for new mail every two minutes, with the icons changing to show unread mail in case you miss the notification. The app is available for both Windows PCs and Macs. It should be noted that downloading this will also make Gmail your default e-mail program, which you might need to consider if you don't want this to be case.
While Gmail's keyword search works well enough for basic queries, there are some advanced options that can help refine your process.
For example, entering to:me is:unread in:inbox will bring up any unread mails in your inbox. Entering has:attachment will show you a list of e-mails with files attached, and after: 20/08/2010 before: 25/08/2010 will offer up a list of messages from that specific time period.
You can view the major search operators over at the Gmail support site — it's well worth memorizing a few.
Gmail's "Priority Inbox" functions by highlighting what it considers your most important mail, and has launched to positive feedback. But you can improve it as time goes on.
In order to help Gmail better recognize what really is important (and conversely, what isn't), simply select an e-mail message and hit the little plus or minus arrows at the top of your inbox.
Useful for prioritizing replies if nothing else, there's a setting in Gmail that will enable you to see if a message has been sent just to you, or a mailing list.
To activate it, go to "Settings," then scroll down to "Personal level indicators" and select "Show indicators." This will now mean that every message in your mailbox shows how many recipients there were at a glance.
No arrows will show if the message was sent to a mailing list, ">" shows up when the message was sent to you and others, and ">>" indicates the message was sent to just you.
And finally, on a lighthearted note, did you know there is a free online game you can play that's inspired by Gmail?
"Galactic Inbox" was created by Paul Truong, a creative technologist "in part, as a 'thank you' to the Gmail team for their ongoing work to improve the webmail galaxy." If you want to show the gTeam some love too, then hop on over and have a play!
- 5 Great Unofficial Gmail Themes
- HOW TO: Undo "Send" in Gmail
- 5 Ways to Spice Up Your Gmail Signature
- Gmail Priority Inbox: 5 Tips for Better Productivity
- HOW TO: Give Your Inbox a Master Cleanse
More About: e-mail, email, gmail, Google, how to, inbox, List, Lists, productivity, Productivity Lists, shortcuts, tips, tricks
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We've scoured Chrome's extensions listings and found seven free tools that we think are worth the install for anyone who uses Twitter's web interface.
From extensions that will help you be more productive, to those that will just let you have more fun, check out our list below and let us know about any Twitter-related Chrome plug-ins that you use in the comments.
If you want a super-quick way of sharing a URL on Twitter, you can't go wrong with the "Twitter Share This Page" extension.
Once installed, all you have to do — when you are on the page you want to share — is hit the blue "t" icon (which appears on the right-hand side of your browser bar) and the extension will load the relevant URL in your "What's happening?" Twitter box.
If you want the link shortened, right click on the "t" icon and select the shortening option. All shared links will be pre-shrunk using Bit.ly.
Khaled Musaied's "Twitter Extender" also offers tidy Bit.ly URL shortening abilities with an "add URL" option inserted just below the "What's happening" box.
There are a ton of other enhancements offered by the extension, including old-style retweeting abilities, "reply to all" functionality, quicker direct messaging and the option to load previous tweets if the tweet is a reply.
This tool is very useful for anyone wanting a lightweight way to watch keywords and topics, especially if they are topical memes.
Installing it will place a little blue "t" button on the right-hand side of your browser bar, which, when clicked, lets you manage your keyword phrases.
Once you've set up the words you want watched, a tiny number will appear on the "t" letting you know how many mentions the word has racked up. Clicking it again will let you see the mentions in full.
You can make Twitter streams — whether they are your homepage stream or a search stream — refresh automatically. Tweets pour fluidly down the page, saving you from having to bother with the "X new tweets" clickable bar.
This is a fun one. Other than pure nosiness, the only real reason we could see for anyone needing this data is journalistic/research purposes. Usefulness aside, this extension will let you see the date that any user joined the micro-blogging service.
Ideal for the lazy Twitterer, Twitter Photo Zoom will super-size anyone's avatar from the home screen or sidebar lists when you run your cursor over the thumbnail.
Use this extension if you want to spice up your tweets with unusual symbols like stars, check marks and the like. If they're supported by the browsers and systems on the reader's end, they'll appear in your tweets normally, and you won't have to memorize any unusual codes or load up a character map outside the browser to make it happen.
- 5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed
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- 6 Ways to Recruit Talent for Startups
- 5 Lessons to Learn from Web Startups
- 40+ Essential Social Business Resource
More About: browser add on, chrome, Chrome Extensions, extensions, google chrome, twitter, twitter apps, twitter tools, web apps
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"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
"Basically the price of a night on the town!"
"I'd love to help kickstart continued development! And 0 EUR/month really does make fiscal sense too...


text:
Published January 15, 2018
This is where you'll see important announcements and new special reports.
Please be sure to check it every time the blue bell wiggles. It means something new has been added! 🙂
Contacting HousingAlerts Support is easy!
- Send us an email to email@example.com
- Call us at (800) 210-0667
- Use our live chat feature on every page or
- Open a Support Ticket
We're here for you!
Customer Support Manager

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I have thermally evaporated Chromium on patterns of crosslinked and
uncrosslinked SU-8. Subsequently I would like to pattern a Gold film on the
Chromium by lift-off process. The resist will be lifted off using Acetone. Now
in my experience, when Acetone is sprayed on the resist coated wafer, not only
the resist is removed, but the underlying Chromium and the uncrosslinked SU-8
beneath the Chromium as well.
Can anyone suggest to me how I can do this process and yet prevent the Acetone
from lifting the Chromium film and the underling uncrosslinked SU-8 as well?


text:
YERUN Events Bremen
Welcome to YERUN Events at the University of Bremen!
As a member of the Young European Research Universities Network (YERUN), the University of Bremen regularly hosts YERUN events on its campus.
Please see below for an overview of current and past YERUN events.
Staff Week: From Cotutelles to Joint Programmes – Challenges and Opportunities
This Staff Week brings together and connects university members involved with or interested in the administration and initiation of joint programmes at the doctoral level. The Staff Week focusses on the legal and institutional framework relevant to establishing various forms of international collaboration, from cotutelles to international graduate programmes and joint degrees. It offers an opportunity to discuss the vision behind joint programmes and opportunities both for institutions and for individuals.
YERUN General Assembly and Staff Training "Entrepreneurship and Employability"
The University of Bremen hosted the YERUN General Assembly and Staff Training "Entrepreneurship and Employability" in 2018. Please find information on the programme and photos of the event on the following pages.
Further information about YERUN
Cooperations at the University of Bremen
YERUN Coordinator at the University of Bremen
Dr. Annette Lang
Head of International Office


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About Plum Park
Plum Park is a spectacular boutique hotel with exclusive use for weddings. It is a wonderful example of Victorian architecture and replete with features that exemplify that period of history. In addition, the pastoral backdrop will provide countless opportunities for great photos and a chance for your guests to breathe in the fresh air of the Northamptonshire countryside.
Facilities and capacity
Their permanent marquee can easily seat up to 200 people for a silver service wedding breakfast and comes with:
The terraces are perfect for cocktails, BBQs or hog roasts in summer, while the lawns and orchards are ideal for fairground-style entertainment for your wedding guests.
Services offered
Being an approved venue, they can hold civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies. Whether you are thinking of a large event or a small gathering, and no matter how classical or casual you want it to be, Plum Park's staff will be more than happy to discuss your ideas and help you to create your dream wedding.
The main building has been gracefully restored to its former glory while the courtyard has been sympathetically converted to offer stylish well-equipped hotel accommodation, should you or your guests need stay overnight.
More information about Plum Park
Couples have also viewed:
1 Reviews for Plum Park
Kelly Dunkley · Married on 19/03/2016
Plum Park was amazing everything was perfect timing, food, decor, they made us feel very special I couldn't recommended the venue enough. Jonathan was extremely helpful, very professional and friendly he made us both feel very comfortable.Sent on 16/09/2016
Location of Plum Park


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Featuring over 300 casino games for you to choose from, there's a truly impressive array of options available here. And whilst 300 may not sound like a lot when compared to other sites offering thousands, you're guaranteed never to feel overwhelmed with a choice here – yet are still able to experience premium quality with every single game.
Around two thirds of Mr. Green's gaming portfolio is comprised of slots, each with their own unique title, design, and theme. You'll also find multiple table games, a live casino, and even a range of virtual sports games ideal for those who want to branch out from the traditional casino experience.
All games are organized into useful category tabs, meaning you'll never find yourself struggling to locate a game you're going to enjoy. With many jackpot games on offer and plenty you can play in 'demo' mode so you can experience all the fun without having to actually wager real money, there's a lot of scopes here for a truly entertaining gaming experience every time you play.
As mentioned, a large proportion of Mr. Green's games are slots. Featuring classic fruit-based titles such as Fruit Climber and Cherry Blast, you'll also find a selection of modern movie-themed options too. Including Ted, King Kong Fury, Aladdin's Legacy & Tarzan, there's a slot here to suit virtually everyone.
And as they all feature top-quality graphics and fast loading speeds, you'll never be left waiting for your game to load for hours on end. There's also a useful 'Vegas Slots' tab, where you'll find an array of classic Vegas-inspired titles to have that truly authentic casino experience from the comfort of your very own home.
Live Casino
Whilst slots may form the bulk of Mr. Green's gaming collection, its live casino is incredibly impressive – and potentially one of the best out there. A huge selection of live games awaits you here, including multiple versions of Roulette, Blackjack, Bacarrat & Poker. Each featuring a real-life live dealer you can watch as you play, you'll really feel the thrill of a physical casino.
And if casino classics aren't really your thing, this doesn't mean you need to avoid the live casino section altogether when browsing Mr Green. Also featuring options such as live Monopoly, Football Studio and Dreamcatcher, you can still experience the fun of a live game without table game influence.
Table Games
Whilst there's no denying the thrill of being part of a live table game, sometimes keeping things a little more relaxed is more appealing. So if you still want to enjoy your favorite casino classics without joining a live option, Mr. Green's selection of regular table games is guaranteed to impress.
From European Roulette to 3D Blackjack to Baccarat, there's plenty of options here to suit a variety of personal tastes. Conveniently located under the 'Table Games' tab on the site, there's no chance you'll accidentally mix them up with live versions.