Google is wooing vacationers to its Google+ social network with
automated scrapbooks for photos and videos that could rival Instagram
and Video for Instagram on Facebook.
The
features, dubbed "Google+ Stories" and "Google+ Movies," can take photos
and videos taken from various devices then combine them into what
Google called a "travelogue."
"No more sifting
through photos for your best shots, racking your brain for the sights
you saw, or letting your videos collect virtual dust. We’ll just gift
you a story after you get home. This way you can relive your favorite
moments, share them with others, and remember why you traveled in the
first place," Anil Sabharwal, director of product management, said of
Google+ Stories in a blog post.
Sabharwal said the feature will initially be available for the web and -
of course - Google's Android platform. A version for devices running
Apple's iOS will be "coming soon."
On the other
hand, Sabharwal said Google+ Movies can produce a highlight reel of
photos and videos, "including effects, transitions and a soundtrack."
Google+ Movies will be available for Android, iOS and the web, "so lots more people will receive these video vignettes."
A separate report on tech site Mashable
said the new tool uses Google's Auto Awesome and landmark detection
tools, along with a user's location history and the geotags of
individual photos.
"It will be able to
automatically find the best photos from your library, tag images with
city names, and display the names of restaurants, hotels and airports
you visited," it said.
Also, it said stories are private by default, "but users can edit or share stories publicly after they are created." — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
