14 DAY TRIAL // Google+ is barely out the door, Google has a ton of people working on it, yet the company is still not satisfied with the progress so it bought a startup, Fridge, to build a new feature coming to Google+, groups or 'shared circles' as the feature may be called in Google's social network.
Fridge is a website dedicated to groups. The idea is to make it easy to create friend groups, to share things, chat or plan events. The site only had about 40,000 monthly visitors.
Last week, the company announced that it was shutting down the product and advised users to get their data out by July 19.
Fridge did not say why it was closing shop until now, when it revealed that it has been acquired by Google.
The four-man team will be joining Google and start working at its headquarters in Mountain View.
The team will work on Google+, specifically on the group feature, which is already in the works, or at least in the planning.
Google has always intended to have groups alongside circles in Google+. Circles are great for managing your contacts and friends, as long as you don't have too many of them, but they're still a private feature, no one else can see your circles but you.
There have been some comparisons to Facebook Groups, but they're really not the same.
Which is why Google wants a groups feature for Google+. Essentially, it will enable users to engage with everyone else in the Shared Circle, or group, to share things or just chat, very much like how Facebook Groups works.
Of course, while Fridge can be an indication of what to expect from Shared Circles and the different similar products out there are an inspiration, it's too early to tell exactly how they will work and what Google ends up doing. [via AllThingsD]