Google+ Events

In June 2012, Google announced the release of Google+ Events, a new feature that allows you to easily invite other users to events you have created. Although other social networks have similar features, Google+ Events stands out for three reasons:

•Implementation with Google Calendar. If you have a Google+ account, you also have a Google Calendar account. When you create an event or state that you might attend an event you were invited to, it will automatically be added to your Google Calendar. If you use an Android mobile phone like I do, all of your events will appear on your calendar, providing ample reminders of events you had planned on attending.

•Party Mode. When turned on, the Party Mode feature allows you to automatically upload photos from your mobile device as you take them at a specific event (Android only). If enough users have this feature turned on, your event will continue to be populated with images and video from your event as it is taking place in real time.

•Scheduling Google+ Hangouts. This feature allows you to schedule future hangouts, inviting thousands of people to help ensure that you have an audience for your hangout. Combine this feature with the Hangouts On Air feature mentioned in Chapter 8, and you might be onto something!

Google+ Events page

To access the Google+ Events page, simply click the Events icon to the left of the Google+ navigation bar (Figure 16). Here you will find upcoming events that you have created or that other Google+ users have invited you to. You can also schedule your new hangout, search for more events, look at your Google Calendar, and learn more about sharing images instantly with Party Mode.

Figure 16. Everything you need to start a Google+ event is found on the main Events page in Google+.

Creating a Google+ event

To create a Google+ event, click the red Create Event button in the upper-right corner of the Google+ Events page. A window appears asking you to name your event, select the date and time, list the location, provide any extra details, and invite other Google+ users (Figure 17). You also have the ability to change the photo that represents your event. You can ultimately choose between a series of themes provided by Google, choose an image you have already uploaded to Google+, or upload a new image from your computer.

Figure 17. Creating a Google+ event takes only a couple of minutes.

Once you have created your Google+ event, you will be taken to the event on Google+ (Figure 18).

Figure 18. The Events page for a Google+ event.

Here you will find a chat dialog, a list of everyone who has responded to your invite (with a Yes, Maybe, or No), and all of the details of the event. You can also manually add photos to the event (assuming you don’t have Party Mode enabled already), you can share the event with your Google+ followers, and you can directly invite more users to the event.