Google Circles: Social networking isn't over for Google

hasn't had its last word on social networking. Details about Google Circles, a new social networking-based product, have emerged at the ongoing SXSW (South By Southwest) Festival at Austin, Texas, an annual event themed primarily around film and music.

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Not much is known about Google Circles right now, but there are strong indications that Google isn't stopping atBuzzas far as its social networking aspirations go.

ReadWriteWeb jumped the gun on SundayclaimingGoogle would showcase a "preview" of its "major new social network" called Circles at the ongoing SXSW event. That prompted a Google response onTwitterto RWW's report by stating it isn't launching any product at SXSW. So no previews of Google Circles any time soon, or not until the Google I/O event in May later this year.

What is Google Circles?

But what exactly is Google Circles and how is it any different from Google Buzz? According to ReadWriteWeb, Google Circles will allow people to have different social circles, thereby sharing photos, videos, and status messages with people in a specific social circle.

This approach of Google Circles -- if indeed true -- claims to be unique by differentiating and respecting the different social circles we share with our online friends (family, work colleagues, club mates, etc.), and decide the amount of content we share with them -- just like offline, real-world social networking works.

Evidence of Google moving beyond Buzz and contemplating about social networking deeply has been there to see for a while now. We all know Google has been working on introducing elements (or social layers) in its search engine to serve results depending on our social lives, most notablyGoogle's Social Searchexperiment. Google also has something calledSocial Circlewhich determines your social connections for Social Search.

And even though Google isn't launching Circles at SXSW, it hasn't denied rumors that it's working on a new social networking product or Google Circles.

Here's what we would likeGoogle's next social networking endeavorto focus on. Other than that, keep your fingers crossed till May. Follow me on Twitter at@jshinde.

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Source: http://www.pcworld.in