whatever it takes to sustain its network, Google has finally cracked and Google + is now open to adolescents from the age of 13. Indeed, with 90 million members to its credit, Google + seeks to compete with its competitors better off. Solution, broadening its target.
just been announced by Bradley Horowitz, vice president of product management at Google. So Google + open to teens 13 +, the limit was previously set at 18. Before any external attack, Horowitz said that the security settings have changed accordingly. Why Google is based on the fact that the difference between friends, acquaintances and strangers is crucial for adolescents. Horowitz states:
Also“Teenagers and young adults are Internet users the most active of the planet. And surprise, surprise, they are also human beings who enjoy spending time with family and friends. Put these two things parallel, it becomes clear that teenagers are increasingly connected. “
to ensure their safety, several measures have emerged. First, each youth will alert notifications that publishes a message outside his circle of friends. This does not however prevent him to put it online. In short, the network simply encourage them to reflect on what they intend to post. Let us play devil’s advocate, because ironically, it is well known that most teens think about the consequences and are not impulsive. Adolescence, the age of reason … Anyway.
In addition to these alerts, the dangers of audio-visual chat were also taken into account. Namely, the webcam and the microphones will be disabled for all applications outside the circles. On the same principle, the wall of the young will not be accessible to all.
All countries will be affected by these changes, except for Spain and South Korea where the minimum age be raised to 14 spring finally Google + Netherlands will support only young people over 16 years old.
What is the point of this new feature to Google? The most obvious reason is obviously to grow its audience and increase the number of members. There is still some way to compete with 800 million users of Facebook, any newcomer is good to take.
A final reasonmore farfetched comes to mind. Google has just unveiled its strategy aimed at American universities. The firm offers its Chromebooks students while Apple is trying to impose the iPad. By becoming aware of 13 years and over, Google builds its reputation on a target it intends to achieve a few years later. We will not even say it debauch the young but this is advertising in advance.
Finally, by allowing 13 + + on Google, the Mountain View company Google would try to perpetuate +, to compete with Facebook and Apple in advance. Still, one can be skeptical about the effectiveness of this measure, adolescents will they be attracted by the seriousness Google +, while the attractive Facebook is already just a click away.
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Chlorophyll – Fotolia.com
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