One thing we always missed in current Google+, is the group feature where we can run closed/public groups with people having common interest. Starting from today Google + is rolling out ‘Google+ Communities‘ a gathering place where you can discuss on any topics of interest with like minded people. It’s some what similar to famous Yahoo Groups, Facebook group or Google’s own Group that you are used to. Google + communities allow –
- Public or private membership to support all kinds of groups – group moderation, management
- Discussion categories to find the conversations you care about most
- The option to start hangouts and plan events with community members
- The ability to share with your community from any +1 button across the web
Google also shared some interesting statics about its social initiative Google +, more than 500 million people have upgraded, 235 million are active across Google ( activities like+1’ing, hanging out in Gmail, connecting in Search etc), and 135 million are active in just the stream.
Google is slowly rolling out the Communities feature calling it “only a preview”, when it does you can see an “Communities” icon on your right side menu bar. It’s only available on desktop and will soon available on mobile.