Spaces (or Google Spaces to kill the ambiguity) is a free web service from Google where a user can create a group to share links, images and posts with friends. Different groups called ‘Spaces’ can be created, each for a different set of friends. This helps in organizing your social circles. The best part about Spaces is the YouTube, Chrome and Google Search integration in its Android and iOS apps. Now, you don’t have to open separate instances of YouTube or Google Search when you want to share a video or a link.
There are various group sharing apps out there, like Cluster, but most of them are limited to a particular type of file, mostly images. Spaces gives you the all-in-one messaging and sharing platform. With so many Google socializing apps already in the market, many people are finding it hard to swallow another one. But before we pass a judgment, let’s take it for a spin.
How to Share Posts and Links on Google Spaces
Google Spaces is available as a web application, an Android app and an iOS app. Functionality is the same for every platform except for some considerable changes in the web version. Let me show you what Google Spaces is all about using the web application.
When you first log onto your Google Spaces account, you’ll see a normal dashboard with a column on the right that tracks all the activities of your Spaces. What are spaces? Spaces are different ‘folders’ or groups on your Google Spaces account which you can share with your friends. Here is where all the magic happens. It is a one-stop platform where you and your friends can share links, pictures, and make text posts.
Click on Create a Space to create a new space where you can chat and share various media with your friends. To invite friends, click Invite VIA where you can share a link with your friend, send them an email about Google Spaces, or you can post it on Facebook where all your friends can join your Space.
Here is where the web app and the Android app of Google Spaces differ. Users can only post images, share links and make text posts in a Space on Google Spaces’ web app. However, Google Spaces has integrated YouTube, Google Search, and Chrome in their Android app. Using Its Android app seems way handier.
Friends can hold discussions on a particular post. Click on Say Something to start a chat around a post.
Notifications from your friends will be flashed on the Spaces Activity at the left. You can click on them to go to their location.
A Chrome extension can also be downloaded for Spaces. It makes it easier to post a page that you are browsing in a particular Space. However, the Spaces’ Chrome extension failed to work when I installed it. Make sure you guys hit me in the comments if Google Spaces’ Chrome extension works for you.
Final Words
Google Spaces is an awesome platform to organize events, share important media and hold discussions on them. Google Spaces currently doesn’t cater the file sharing feature that goes beyond links and images to documents and videos. I feel this drawback might not attract many takers. Online forums are branding it as a crossover of many social apps like Google Communities, Slack, Hangouts (they’re close to certain extent), etc. I guess only time will tell how Google Spaces fairs.
Nonetheless, I award this free app with 4.8 stars for its performance and its ingenuity of integrating YouTube and Google Search on one group based platform.
Try Spaces here.
