Google is about to enter the world of online streaming music. According to reports from The Verge and the Wall Street Journal the software giant will roll out the new feature for both Google Play and YouTube users.

While Google’s software platforms  ranging from Gmail and Google Maps to Google Docs and Google.com continue to receive praise the company has failed to keep up with its competitors in terms of media offerings.

To reach a level playing field with Apple and Amazon the company reportedly signed licensing deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. Those two media conglomerates make up a large portion of the mainstream music market and are considered must have partners for any serious online streaming partner.  read more

There have been a lot of jokes made at Google’s expense when it comes to Google+. While the social network may not have the mass appeal of Facebook, Twitter, and other competitors, it does offer a practical and worthwhile path along the paved road to SEO success.

Have you noticed the number of posts on Google.com that now feature Google Authorship? Every time you see a post with an authors name attached and their picture you are witnessing the start of Google+ SEO magic.

Getting started with Google+ optimization for SEO is simple and surprisingly not time consuming in the least.  read more

Google+ users can now add some flare to their profiles with animated GIF avatars. Google announced the new platform on it’s official Google+ page along with instructions on how to complete the process.

Once you have a Google+ account you can setup your GIF image by simply clicking on your profile picture and choosing the GIF you want to use.

Here is the full GIF profile pic creation process:

• Download any video you want to make a GIF from. You can download YouTube videos with KeepVid.
• Trim the source video to the 2 to 3 seconds you want the GIF to be made from.
• Open with Photoshop. File > Import > Video Frames to Layers.
• Fix it up (quality-wise) and save.

Google has been GIF happy lately, the company recently added the ability to search for GIF files via its main Google.com search portal. read more

Viral videos are pretty hit or miss, and not many brands can match the virality of independent series like My Drunk Kitchen or Awkward Black Girl. Still, the brands who try can end up winning big: Old Spice and Progressive are just two brands who’ve used humor, silliness and social media to achieve virtually instant name recognition. Videos that are useful or entertaining are the most shared, but there’s no real formula to making a viral video. That doesn’t mean, however, that brands won’t try–and some of them succeed.

For the first few seconds of Till Dance Do We Part it’s not hard to think this is a real show. It’s flashy and gaudy and just weird enough to be plausible: big audience, technically skilled dancers, and a judge who looks like a cross between Liberace, David Alan Grier and Prince. So, when the camera cuts to a female dancer smacking sidelong into a washing machine, the viewer’s surprised. We’ve just been tricked into watching a nearly pitch-perfect pastiche of reality show–and when the punch line comes, the viewer feels a little cheated. That’s what makes it compelling: for a split second, the viewer is left squinting at their laptop screen, not in on the joke.

But that doesn’t last long, and the punch line becomes genuinely funny. It shouldn’t be, because laughing at people who hurt themselves isn’t nice; but the slapstick element is a reminder of just how absurd the reality television industry has become. With the appearance of appliances comes the relief that a dance competition this crazy isn’t actually real. It’s what makes this video both entertaining and shareable. This month-old Sears commercial is proof that virality sometimes doesn’t happen. But Sears’ brand is recognizable enough that it doesn’t need an instantly measurable ROI, and this commercial will eventually become a gamble that pays off.

read more

Google+ users can now search for photos using the social networks search bar.

Users simply type in a search term and then choose “photos” from the drop down menu to begin their photo search.

At this time the search filter does not allow for multiple filters to be applied, a fact that will likely change with the next Google+ update.

The Google+ search will only show photos that are listed as permissible for each user. Essentially only “public” photos and photos from circles you belong to will show up.

The move to add photo friendly searches was an important step for Google. The Google+ platform has quickly become a hot spot of discussion and display for artists looking to share their own works and their favorites pieces form other artists. read more

Bloggers are inevitably obsessed with the topic of creative commons, and if they aren’t yet, they will be soon. Why? Well, if you have ever seen the cost of subscriptions for stock photo sights, you wouldn’t have to ask that question. They are expensive, often offer nothing special and in general don’t cut it for most casual bloggers that don’t want to spend cash on what is essentially a place for their thoughts.

Using public domain or CC licensed content is the perfect way around that. You can use photos and videos as you like, not worrying about the cost or being sued for copyright. Which is ever bloggers wost nightmare, thanks to the many horror stories we are subjected to on the web. read more

Free food, yoga classes and other events mark the perks of a Google job but only if you can actually land a position. According to a new infographic by Data visualization service Visual.ly and created for SocialTimes your chances at landing a Google job increase if you actually have a Google+ account.

GPlusData discovered that more than 10 percent of  the 114 million people that the social analytics service tracks have claimed Google as an employer. Those claims include jobs at YouTube, Google and the company’s other divisions.

While it is true Google does not employ 11.4 million people (even more if you take its full 500 million+ user base) those numbers likely include freelance workers, former employees, YouTube partners and Google hopefuls.  read more

Google+ has announced plans to launch a new enterprise feature which allows users to discover when they have connected to someone who works at the same company.

According to a Google+ blog post, if a coworker hovers over a person’s name they will see the company’s URL beneath the Google+ users name section.

Google+ has been long attempting to split up users via Circles, ensuring that coworker are kept separate from other family and friends on the growing social platform.

This newest move is being seen by some analysts as Google’s latest move to allow for better platform collaboration among Google+ enterprise users.  read more

Facebook mobile ads offered better-than-expected results at the end of Q3, 2012 and now some analysts believe Facebook mobile ads revenue will overtake Google mobile ads by the end of 2012.

Reporting firm eMarketrt predicts that Google will generate $339 million in mobile ad revenue in 2012, a large increase fro the company previous estimates that ranged from $45 million to $100 million.

The firm notes that Facebook is expected to grab an 18.4% of the mobile ad market compared to Google’s current 17% share. Google is also expected to be down from 23% of the mobile ad market  in 2011.  read more

Search giant Google has rolled out new integration practices between its Google+ social network and social video sharing website YouTube.

YouTube users now have the option to share videos they upload on Google+ by selecting that option directly from the upload interface. Once uploaded the videos are automatically showcased in a “videos” tab on the users Google+ profile.

In order to use the new service users must like their Google+ and YouTube accounts under their real name. The new process is very similar to what is already used for Picassa photos sharing.

For Google+ users who do not want to use the service the tab can be hidden.

After opting in to the service the users videos then read “YouTube” and when clicked users will be sent to YouTube rather than watching the embed on Google+, a sly way for YouTube and Google to share multiple pageviews per video engagement.  read more