Google+ started with a lot of bluster and promises that it would beat Facebook into the ground. The arrogance of Google gave a lot of people a sly indulgent pleasure when Google+ failed to live up to its promises. However, to the credit of Google, they have continued to improve Google+ to the point where increasingly more people say it is better than Facebook. Maybe it is because they are targeting people above the age of Tween, and maybe it is because more adults are joining and adding good solid content. Whatever the reason for its growing successes, you shouldn’t be surprised that they have further improved Google+ with a new Photo App.
What does Google+ have to do with a new photo app?
The way it currently works is that you can upload your images to your Google Drive, or to Google+, or to your Blogger servers. A person, and even the public, can look at those photos by following your instructions, your social media profile, or by gaining permission to use your Google Drive.
With the new photo app, you can arrange your photos in one place. You can upload photos to your Google+ and have them stored alone on your Google+ profile and in a folder in the new photo app. The same is true if you have a blog, and you can have your pictures stored automatically if you have a Blogger blog. You can store your photos on the new photo gallery for free under certain restrictions on size and such. If you want to upload larger image or video files, you can do so, but it will count towards your Google Drive use.
Putting your images in one place
This is an option the photo app gives. The hope is that it will become a single hub for all your images and videos. It is an option because you can upload images to your Google+ profile and your photo album if you want. Plus, if you accidentally trash and delete photos from your photo album, you can bring them back through your Google+ profile if they are there, without having to manually download and upload them again.
Now for the scary part
Google are still claiming this to be true. They say that the app learns, that it recognizes what you have shot, and that it categorises your images accordingly. For example, if you have a category called “Me” or “Selfies,” then it will automatically file your selfie photos in those files using image recognition technology. That doesn’t sound so scary right?
Well, Google claim the app is so clever that it can figure out what is on your images and file them in the correct category with a frightening degree of accuracy. For example, if you have a category called, “Skylines” then it will file skyline photos in that category.
As yet, there is no limit to what it can recognise. They are even claiming that if you put images of your dog into a category you name (such as “My dog”) , and then take photos of a bunch of dogs, that it will only file images of your dog in the file you named “My dog.” It does it by recognizing the content of your photographs and then comparing them with your other photographs to see which match. In an age of fibre broadband, mobile devices with eight processors and access to the Internet no matter where you go, it stands to reason that automatic image sorting will be viewed as fast and convenient and will therefore, become very popular.