Yes, I said “primp.” Last week, Google updated its Profiles with a vastly improved appearance. Go ahead, compare it to Facebook profile pages, everyone else is. That said, I greatly prefer the streamlined look of Google Profiles and the lack of ads (at this time anyway) on the page.
Google Profiles launched two years ago, but was pretty rudimentary in look and use. I primarily filled out my profile so that I could add all of my connected social services in one place and, well, you might as well fill out a profile if one is available to increase your visibility in the Great Google Search World.
But now, with the changes, you can really mod your profile out, with pictures, more descriptions and a nicer look. Plus, the profile page is fitted out with two tabs: About Me and Buzz. Now, you can quickly tab over to see that person’s Buzz content, which is a welcome boost for the somewhat quiet social service. In the Buzz tab, you can then select posts, comments or likes to see the information you have interacted with and how you have interacted with it. It is a cleaner interface than Google Reader, and I can see myself going to the Profile page to quickly access my likes, for later reference.
Here is my updated Profile’s About page:
Do you have a Google Profile? Hit the link here to update it with the new editing features. Do you not yet have one? Hit that same link and fill one out. When Google gets around to really pulling its social act together, you will be glad you did.
UPDATE: I just saw this article over at the Google Operating System Blog – if you use unedited pictures for your profile but use the online editor, visitors can still access the entire photo. If this is a problem for you, consider editing your images on your computer before uploading. Thanks for the tip, Alex!
