Google+ gets a redesign

Google+ launched around 9 months ago and has acquired over 170 million users, along the way. In its quest to be a better social networking solution, the site has gone through a redesign. Google announced in a blog post that they’ve introduced a more functional and flexible version of Google+. For one, they’ve changed how you can navigate through the site. They’ve removed the static icons on the top and placed a dynamic list of applications on the left hand side. With the list on the left, you can drag applications up and down to create an order that you want. You can hover over certain applications, which will reveal actions that you can perform with the app. You can also choose to display or hide apps by dragging them in and out of “More”. This change will allow you to access your preferred applications quicker and change your preferences over time. Furthermore, the dynamic list, or as they’re calling it, the ribbon will create space for the next feature that Google+ will bring over time.

Google+ has also redesigned the ways you might share content, so it keeps you coming back to share more. They say, “Once you’ve upgraded to Google+, it’s easy to share with your circles from just about anywhere. We’re dreaming bigger, though. We’re aiming for an experience that fuses utility with beauty—one that inspires you to connect with others, and cherish the conversations that unfold.” The changes they’ve made include full bleed photos and videos, a stream of conversation “cards” that facilitate scanning and joining discussions, and finally, an activity drawer that highlights the community around your content.

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Google+ also wants people to Hangout more and have a better Hangout experience, so they’ve created a dedicated Hangout page. The page will include a constantly updated list of invitations from your friends to Hangout, quick access to every public on-air Hangout and a rotating board of popular Hangouts as well as pro tips. Furthermore, more apps are being developed for Hangouts, which should make Hangout experiences a lot simpler and richer for users. Google’s also added a new Explore page that shows what’s trending across the network, a new profile page with much bigger photos and a new chat list, which “puts your friends front and center”. The social network will be rolling out these changes over the next few days.