Gmail Pictures : More Google Community Building
Google is adding even more personality and “social network” traits to its interactive offerings (yes, even beyond Google Notebook & Co-op) with Gmail Pictures. With the addition of images to GTalk & Gmail, Google is achieving two goals; first adding more of a youthful MySpacey feel to their products and second, building a photo database of their registered users which can be applied to other Google offerings which could give faces to user names in Google Notebook, Google Answers and would really come in quite handy if Google ever acquires Riya; the image-biometrics recognition powered photo uploading and sharing service.
The Yahooization of Google started with bookmarks in the Google toolbar earlier in the year and has now grown beyond Google Groups and Blogger with centralized, personalized and info-driven Google Accounts.
Speaking of Riya, with the addition of images to Google’s Gmail / Google Accounts I am anxiously waiting for the day when I can use my cellphone camera to Google someone.
Just think, you’re sitting at the bar, see someone you want to start a conversation with, you take a pic with the camera, search for the image in Google accounts (if they are part of your extended network – think LinkedIn or Orkut), find the person, their Google Notebook, likes, dislikes, groups the belong to and RSS feeds they subscribe to, and wallah!, all the info needed to break the ice directly from Google (or Yahoo or MSN for that matter).
Sure, it’s a cheesy idea, but with the intense user info which Google is storing, the ability to do so is pheasible.
Back to realty, Google is adding photos to Gmail. More info from Gmail Pictures.
Gmail pictures allow you to put a face to a name, by showing user-selected pictures when you roll over a name in your inbox, Contacts, or Quick Contacts list. You can choose your own photo for yourself and for your contacts, suggest a photo for a contact to use, or see what your friends have selected for themselves.
Gmail pictures can be configured to show to all users who you email or who email you, or they can be limited to only those users who are able see when you’re online. You can see a full list of users who can see your online status from the All Contacts tab of your Contacts page – they’ll be listed with a colored ball next to their name.
