Podcast: Introduction to Google+ as a source of online evidence
For our first attempt at a podcast we thought Google+ (Google’s new social network) would be a timely and interesting topic. Since the launch of Google+ just two weeks ago it has generated enormous public interest and several million users. Based on the level of interest and the features of Google+ we believe it will become an important source of online evidence, particularly in terms of e-discovery. We will therefore be tracking Google+ closely over the coming weeks and months and have recorded a short 30-minute podcast to supplement our introduction to Google+ from last week.
Google+, the latest social network and newest source of evidence
After a very long wait, Google last week launched their new social networking service, “Google+”. Coming on the heels of several disappointing Google product launches, including the spectacular failure of Google Wave, you would be forgiven for not having high hopes for Google+. However, having used the service for several days we believe Google+ might well make an impact and that, if successful, it will become an important new source of online evidence.
As we have highlighted in our recent posts on Apple iCloud and Facebook’s new Messages system, it is essential to track and understand emerging technologies so that they become an opportunity rather than an issue in identifying and collecting digital evidence. In this post we will therefore introduce Google+ and look at some of the features which could prove interesting in terms of online evidence and investigations.
This Week in Online Evidence – July 1st 2011
Highlight: Google launches Google+, a new social networking site
Our highlight this week is the introduction of Google+, the new social network from Google. The social networking tool is currently in beta, or as Google is terming it “a field testing phase”, but there are already a large number of active users and the service is generating significant interest online. Although this is not Google’s first attempt to enter the social networking market the high demand for invites to the beta is a promising start and suggests that Google may recover from recent lacklustre products such as Google Buzz and Google Wave.
Google already have a loyal user base including those who use Google search, Gmail, Docs, Picasa, Maps etc. Although it will be difficult for Google to compete with established networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn there are some novel features in Google+ which will attract users. Here at Cernam we will be tracking Google+ closely since it has the potential to become a very important source of online evidence, potentially mirroring the importance of Facebook data in litigation and corporate investigations.
