Google + has had an interesting adventure since its introduction years ago, having what seemed like a little bit of growing pains in reaching the point that it’s currently at. Not too long ago Google’s little slice of social interaction on the web got a design refresh, bringing with it a whole new UI and a couple of other tweaks and improvements. Today, Google is starting to roll out an update to the website version of Google plus that introduces a few more new changes and improvements, which further optimize the user experience for anyone who generally accesses Google + through the web rather than the app on smartphones and tablets.
Although the changes may not be live for everyone just yet, there is no doubt that some users have already noticed one of the changes if they spend any amount of time scrolling through their home page. A new indicator button now shows up that displays towards the top when new posts arrive in the feed. Similar to the way that Facebook has been doing for a while now, Google + now alerts users with a real-time update when new posts are available to view, and clicking on the button will take you automatically to the top of your feed and the most recent post without having to hit the refresh button in your browser. This is not only faster but also more convenient and allows users to continue interacting with their Google + feed without an interruption to the experience from page loads. It also serves as a means to be absolutely sure there are new posts to see so you don’t waste your time refreshing the feed only to find the same posts.
While this is definitely a useful new addition to the experience, it’s not the only change coming through to take note of. Google has also updated the “following” screen under the People page with a new design, and the people search has been improved so finding more people to follow is now easier than before. You can also now view larger profile images in a gallery as they will be displayed this way going forward, and along with these new changes there is the always present bug fixes that tend to be accompanied by any app or service update. Lastly, if you’re curious, users can also access an activity log from the settings menu and see who they have previously muted and unmute them if they feel the need or have the desire to do so.