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Apparently all this "integration" appeals to some people, but I can't say I'm one of them. The last thing I want is google+ integrated with my gmail (largely wh

Apparently all this "integration" appeals to some people, but I can't say I'm one of them. The last thing I want is google+ integrated with my gmail (largely why I haven't signed up with google+). I'd rather just have my mail be my mail, not some sort of weird blob-like uber product trying desperately to force me to classify the people I kind of know into "circles". I get the value for the company, but as a consumer the idea of all this integration just creeps me out.

notatoad 15y ago
a circle is exactly the same feature as a contacts group, something email clients have had since their inception. you've never organized your contacts into groups or lists so you could quickly send an email to a pre-defined list of people? that's exactly what a circle is. i can't imagine any rational reason to be creeped out by that. and even if you don't group your contacts, that's perfectly fine. there is nothing forcing you to do that. after-g+ gmail works exactly the same way it did before g+, only now it has the ability to send mail to any circles you've set up in google+.
- overgard 15y ago
  Functionally the same, but emotionally different. It's more official. Placing people into discreet groups feels weird to me. I don't really naturally do that. I don't really like the idea of placing people into certain circles while discreetly excluding others. It's not an egalitarian thing, I just don't think that social groups are that easily defined. Illegibility is really at the heart of it. The entire notion of circles strikes me as being naive and kinda creepy but mostly annoying.
- muyuu 15y ago
  Similar, but not exactly the same. Contact groups are more of a memory aid. You just need to be able to find the person, and most of the time this is the only consideration. Circles involve privacy and thus they also involve social considerations. For instance, I'd have all my f* buddies in the same group but not in the same circle. People who I don't want to discuss my stuff together I wouldn't have in the same circle, and this happens a lot. That said, it's been a while I don't even use contact groups, I have just 2 lists: people I actively communicate with (time doesn't allow for a ton of these) and people I seldom communicate with, or whose contact I may or may not need. I've also learnt to delete people who I don't need or want in my contacts, and found it to be a great life-hack.
decadentcactus 15y ago
Same here. It started with Youtube attempting to merge their accounts and Google accounts. A fine idea, but for me, the execution was lacking, not knowing which account to sign into, not being able to use multiple Google accounts on different sites, etc. Another thing is that Google doesn't always make the best products. By far. > As Blogger becomes an easily customizable face for a Google+ public stream, Tumblr will have more trouble succeeding with its blogging product. I'm not sure if the author has used much of Blogger, but it is horrendous, and terrible if you want to do anything slightly more powerful than a simple blog. Wordpress completely outclasses it.

notatoad 15y ago

a circle is exactly the same feature as a contacts group, something email clients have had since their inception. you've never organized your contacts into groups or lists so you could quickly send an email to a pre-defined list of people? that's exactly what a circle is. i can't imagine any rational reason to be creeped out by that. and even if you don't group your contacts, that's perfectly fine. there is nothing forcing you to do that. after-g+ gmail works exactly the same way it did before g+, only now it has the ability to send mail to any circles you've set up in google+.

overgard 15y ago
Functionally the same, but emotionally different. It's more official. Placing people into discreet groups feels weird to me. I don't really naturally do that. I don't really like the idea of placing people into certain circles while discreetly excluding others. It's not an egalitarian thing, I just don't think that social groups are that easily defined. Illegibility is really at the heart of it. The entire notion of circles strikes me as being naive and kinda creepy but mostly annoying.
muyuu 15y ago
Similar, but not exactly the same. Contact groups are more of a memory aid. You just need to be able to find the person, and most of the time this is the only consideration. Circles involve privacy and thus they also involve social considerations. For instance, I'd have all my f* buddies in the same group but not in the same circle. People who I don't want to discuss my stuff together I wouldn't have in the same circle, and this happens a lot. That said, it's been a while I don't even use contact groups, I have just 2 lists: people I actively communicate with (time doesn't allow for a ton of these) and people I seldom communicate with, or whose contact I may or may not need. I've also learnt to delete people who I don't need or want in my contacts, and found it to be a great life-hack.

decadentcactus 15y ago

Same here. It started with Youtube attempting to merge their accounts and Google accounts. A fine idea, but for me, the execution was lacking, not knowing which account to sign into, not being able to use multiple Google accounts on different sites, etc. Another thing is that Google doesn't always make the best products. By far. > As Blogger becomes an easily customizable face for a Google+ public stream, Tumblr will have more trouble succeeding with its blogging product. I'm not sure if the author has used much of Blogger, but it is horrendous, and terrible if you want to do anything slightly more powerful than a simple blog. Wordpress completely outclasses it.