The Live Indian Entertainment Blog

Google Plus continues to get more open bit by bit, and just today made the service available to teens age 13 and up. Previously, Google Plus was restricted to people 18 and up. Along with the wave of new teenagers, Google Plus is also getting new privacy and security features--a fairly important thing if the service is to become something parents encourage their children to use.

Google is probably doing the slow rollout on purpose. This is their third or fourth wave of opening the service up. Each time it's followed by new statistics on membership, and this time will be no different. Millions of teens are going to sign up in the near future.

Google Plus Opens To Teens

Google Plus is now open to everyone 13 and up, and I'm guessing there will be plenty of takers.

This kind of news should be music to a video marketer's ears, because teenagers are among the most avid video consumers. They're also much more prone to social activity, with most of today's teenagers having grown up with mobile devices, Facebook, and Twitter.

The influx of teenagers 13 and up to Google Plus means the demographic will change almost overnight. It should also make Google Plus a more attractive social video marketing tool for brands and businesses--particularly those that create content known to appeal to teenagers: I'm thinking about action-oriented brands like Go Pro and Red Bull, music videos and music industry brands, movie trailers, etc.

The self-service Apple Store checkout system we reported about earlier this week has hit some glitches. Originally scheduled to go live late this week, it's been delayed at the last minute.

Despite "last minute delays," the system appears to be nearing launch. The idea, as noted earlier, is to allow customers to use a new Apple Store iOS app and their iPhone's camera to access the same EasyPay system that store employees use to check customers out.

With the self-service EasyPay system, customers can simply something up from the showroom floor, say a case or something, and pay for them without the help of an employee. More expensive items can be "purchased," as well, but for those, users will still require the help of an employee, as they are stored in the back stockroom.

9to5Mac has obtained an image of how items that can be purchased with the system will look (above). Apple has yet to roll out the new app, but once the company does, you can expect self-service to be all the rage, and quickly.