Social Networking with humans

Google sends ground troops to Houston: Teams fanning out to try and explainGoogle+

When Google launched in the late 1990s, the company differentiated its search engine from then-competitors like Excite and AltaVista with a streamlined, virtually empty webpage. No ads, no graphics . . . just a simple logo and a search box.

Even as Gmail, Google Maps, and Google Docs joined the fold, the Internet giant relegated the additional feature links to a narrow band at the top of the screen to maintain its trademark no-frills approach.

"We're trying to reach out to a wide range of organizations in Houston," Goo gle marketing rep Nimi Cheetham-West says, "especially those with strong ties to the city's non-profits."

But as it searches for new approaches to social networking with Google+, the company is ditching its unobtrusive ways by putting to use the most sophisticated hands-on networkers available — humans.

"We opened our office in March at Caroline Collective, which has been perfect for setting up workshops," local Google marketing rep Nimi Cheetham-West tells CultureMap. "We're trying to reach out to a wide range of organizations in Houston, especially those with strong ties to the city's non-profits."

In the past two months, he noted that his team of three outreach specialists has organized workshops for the regional branch of Habitat for Humanity, the Houston Texans, Houston Arts Alliance and even Revival Market, a local grocer known for its extensive ties to local food suppliers. This past Wednesday, the group made it to the CultureMap headquarters.

After successful Google+ session at Caroline Collective in early May, Cheetham-West said he hopes to draw a large crowd for its next event at the coworking hub on June 21.

"Right now, we have 24 teams in place across the county, including offices in Dallas and Austin," he says, noting the outreach program will continue to expand to more cities throughout the year.

As Cheetham-West sees it, Google+ can be a power tool for organizations and businesses interested in fine tuning their communication with members and clients. The Circles feature allows posts to reach specific clusters of one's own network of followers, complete with timelines that show how and when one's posts are distributed.

A video conferencing feature, better known as a Google+ Hangout, allows up to 10 participants and now allows users to save the full conversation on YouTube.

"When President Obama did a Hangout back in January after his State of the Union address, the entire dialogue was then posted online," Cheetham-West says. "Now anyone can use the feature, if they like, with just the click of button.

"It's incredibly easy."

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THE FUTURE IS HERE

Amazon primes Houston suburbs for expanded drone delivery service

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Prime Air is expanding to almost 500 U.S. cities.

By the end of 2026, more Texans will be able to get ultrafast deliveries through Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service. On Wednesday, August 19, the company announced a major expansion to nearly 500 cities and towns in the U.S., a sixfold increase from its current footprint.

Although Amazon did not release the cities it is targeting in its expansion plans, it almost certainly includes Texas. The state, which ranks among the biggest states for ecommerce activity, is currently home to four of the nation’s 11 Prime Air sites, including San Antonio, Waco, Richardson, and Houston suburb Richmond.

For drone deliveries, the company tends to target areas unencumbered by skyscrapers and major airports, which could mean area suburbs like New Braunfels and San Marcos will join the mix. Each facility covers a delivery area of approximately 175 square miles.

Prime Air deliveries must be five pounds or less and fit into a large shoebox, but Amazon says more than 60 percent of its most ordered items are eligible. The list includes groceries, cosmetics, medications, clothing, and small electronics like Apple AirPods and Ring doorbells. There are plenty of niche items, too, such as guitar strings and juice for fog machines.

Orders arrive as quickly as 30 minutes, with most packages dropped around 60 minutes after checkout. Prime members will enjoy free delivery on orders $50 or more and a $2.99 fee for orders under $50. Non-members pay $4.99.

According to Amazon, customers should have little worries about orders being damaged or drones being entangled in trees. Shoppers see and confirm their delivery point when placing their first drone delivery order and can select a new area at any time. More fragile items — like eggs — are not available through the service.

Amazon also sends a notification to customers if there is no safe delivery space and does not fly at night or under severe weather conditions. The retail giant says noise is minimal with sound levels similar to idling delivery trucks.

Amazon did not give a timeline for the expansion, but Texas will not be in its first stage. Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Idaho, and New York will be the next states on its list. All future sites will be subject to regulatory hurdles like zoning changes, but the company is confident it will be serving tens of millions of new customers by year-end.

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