The Social Path

Google+ looks and works better than ever. Will that be enough?

Search behemoth Google continues to struggle in its quest to dominate the realm of social networking. But with fresh coat of paint and a couple of new bells and whistles, Google+ is now once again poised to rival Facebook.

As you can see in the video below, the new Google+ redesign is all about images. The sharing stream now features larger photos and video. There's also a sleek customizable ribbon on the left side of the page that allows for customization. You can now drag icons like "Circles" and "Photos" and arrange them as you like.

 

The new look also has been incorporated into Gmail and Google Reader in an effort to boost Google+ functionality.

The redesign is attractive but the jury is still out on whether these aesthetic changes can lure faithful Facebook fans. While Google+ boasts an impressive-on-paper 170 million users, there are still plenty of questions about mainstream adoption. Comscore data recently showed U.S. users spending 3.3 minutes on Google+ each month compared to 7.5 hours on Facebook. 

Google's new visual upgrade for the network is definitely a step in the right direction, but what do you think? Will it be enough to finally start luring users to spend considerable amounts of time on Google+?

Edward Bowser is Community Manager at Luckie & Company. You can contact him by email or follow him on Twitter.

Five fun fitness apps for your iPhone.

Warm weather has arrived across most of the country, which means it’s time for the annual swimsuit season freakout! After months of loading carbs to stay warm during winter, it’s time to shed those heavy clothes — and pounds, too.

Many weight-loss methods, like gym memberships, can be pricey. We thought we'd look at a few cheaper (i.e., free) iPhone app options to get you healthy. 

Need a job? We're hiring a social media planner.

If you’ve got a passion for social media marketing, a proven knack for organizing big projects and strong writing skills, you could be the next Social Media Planner for Birmingham-based marketing agency Luckie & Company.

You’ll be joining a team whose client work has been praised by everyone from Mashable to The New York Times, so you’ll need to show that you have the professionalism, creativity and enthusiasm to be an industry leader. Whether you come from an advertising agency, PR, interactive or journalistic background, we’re looking for someone with a solid track record of taking initiative and getting results. This position requires that you work full-time at the Luckie headquarters in Birmingham, where you will be managing the day-to-day operations of multiple client social media channels, often at the national level.

Requirements

•  3+ years of relevant experience in professional use of social media
• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, PR or a related field
• Clear examples of social media work for clients, preferably with an audience in excess of 10,000 fans or followers.
• Active experience with blogging, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest
• Excellent grammar, spelling and attention to detail
• Provide links to your publicly visible blogs and Twitter feeds
• Must complete criminal background check

Must be experienced with business use of:

• Facebook Pages and Insights
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Google+
• WordPress, TypePad or other blogging platforms
• YouTube and Vimeo
• Adobe Photoshop
• Microsoft Excel
• Google Documents

Ideal candidates also will be experienced with:

• Blogger outreach
• WordPress theme development
• Microsoft PowerPoint or KeyNote
• Radian6 or similar social analytics tools
• Web traffic analytics tools

To apply, email a resume, cover letter, electronic samples and relevant links to melissa.wheeler@luckie.com.

Luckie is an idea-obsessed 140-person agency with offices in Birmingham, San Antonio and Atlanta. Our clients include AT&T, Schick, Little Debbie, Regions Bank,Glaxo Smith Klein, Gulf Power, Asheville Tourism, Alabama Tourism, Bayer Advanced and Chick-fil-A.

Edward Bowser is Community Manager at Luckie & Company. You can contact him by email or follow him on Twitter.