Train, Paul Oakenfold Launch Google+ Events
On the first day of the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco, the tech giant launched Events, a new feature for Google+. The service makes Google’s social media platform even more social by creating a chronological feed for photographs taken by multiple friends attending the same event. Using something called Party Mode, a user’s photographs are automatically added to the shared Events page in real-time, and photos which generate the most interest – or which feature the individual user – appear in a highlighted area above the feed.
Fittingly, the party-app launch included performances from pop-rockers Train and trance DJ Paul Oakenfold. Attendees checked out wild, Burning Man-style installations and tech demos amid food islands and open bars while the artists performed. Train may have been thrown off at first by the audience’s scattered attention, but they pushed through into a hits-loaded set. “Google’s as big as it gets, and as cool as it gets,” frontman Patrick Monahan said, grabbing smartphones from fans in the front row to snap up-close photos personally.
Monahan’s only complaint? When he searches Google for “Train,” it pulls up images of locomotives. “I’d like you to fire whoever’s in charge of that,” Monahan joked. Maybe some Google employee in the audience took that to heart: a quick search on Google, from this particular Google+ user, now shows a photo of the band – along with Monahan’s name – on the right-side column.