Google's new Schemer app is available for Google Play (aka the Android Market).
Photo: Mike Isaac/Wired
AUSTIN, Texas — Google's official party line is "Don't be evil." Scheming while twirling a nefarious handlebar mustache, however, seems to be a different story.
The data giant isn't going all Snidely Whiplash on us. Google is using the faux-devious conceit to push one of its newest products, Schemer, an online social tool used to discover and take part in activities in meatspace — as in, out from behind your computer screen.
The premise is fairly straightforward: Drum up anything you've ever wanted to do — ride a bike, climb Mount Everest, eat 50 hot dogs in 50 minutes — and they'll appear in your list of "schemes" you've yet to do. Using Google+ integration, you're able to share those schemes with others, potentially inspiring you and your friends to collaborate offline. It's plotting, but for either good or bad purposes.
Over time, Schemer learns what sort of stuff you're into, and will serve up activities based on your past preferences and locations. And it's both web and mobile app-based (as evidenced by our devious little Android above), so location can follow your mobile check-ins.
On that note, it sounds suspiciously like a Foursquare, Scoutmob, Sosh.com or any of the other location/activity-based services, so — aside from the sweet mustaches — it's hard to get excited about Schemer.
Thing is, it's not just a standalone service. Google is integrating it with Google+, the company's massive social network effort launched last June. So any schemes you add to your wish list will be shared publicly with any other Google+ users who have you in their circles. The integration serves to not only give Schemer a boost, but to foster user engagement within Google+ itself — a social platform rumored to be off to a rocky start.
"All of Google's products, including Schemer, are looking to incorporate Google+ and integrate a social layer," Schemer co-founder Andy Szybalski told Wired. "It's all about collaborative activity."
Which, if it takes off, could make similar smaller companies nervous. Foursquare's listing option accomplishes much of the same task, with a fraction of the user base that Google+ has (around 20 million users compared to 90 million). But rumor has it that while Google+ may have a massive install base, user engagement still leaves a lot to be desired. Perhaps Schemer, and products like it, will change that for the search giant's social sphere. Or perhaps not.
Schemer is currently in a private, invite-only beta phase, with invites trickling out from the small pool of Google+ users that hold them currently. Keep an eye out for a surge of new Schemers after South by Southwest, where the company is heavily touting the new service.
You've always wanted to go buck wild on a mechanical bull. Google's new app aims to help people collaborate and make it happen.
Photo courtesy Google
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