Thoughts on Google Play

Google rolled out a completely new way to consume what is happening on the web, whether it be videos, pictures, text, basically anything all driven but a very new interface. If you have seen the redesign of thesixtyone.com you may see some similarities – at least I did from first usage. You can checkout this link Google Play to try it for yourself.  At first glance, it is a very cool way to consume content – especially on a big screen.

It works out of the box using the same “suggestion” technology behind Google Reader suggested feed items.

You can click through to each item, or “like” “star” and “share” each item individually.  This concept is becoming more prevalent in web apps as visual navigation finally becomes native to users.

Below is an example of Google Play:

As you can see it is actually very playful and gives you the ability to quickly jump between what is happening.

I continue to love the idea of things working without the process of categories and signups (see Google Buzz) since it makes the first time use so much easier.  On the flip side, without Google launching this type of product I am not sure I would grok the full value right away.  For now Google Play does not seem like a must have stop in my online activities – but much like anything else that could change over time.

I originally discovered Google Play via Lois Gray’s post (via Google Reader no less)