Google unveils "Find My Content" tool to fight Copyright Infringement

Just a few short weeks ago, Google (courtesy of a Google+ post by Matt Steiner) announced the 'Find My Face" tool utilizing facial recognition software to aid in tagging pictures of people on the fledgling social network, Google+.

Today*, Google announced the addition of it's "Find My Content" tool.

The tool's first incarnation is aimed at stopping the seemingly rampant theft of original photography taking place on Google+. Using modified facial recognition technology, Google+ will now compare uploaded images with those previously uploaded to Google+. If it finds a match, the uploader is notified prior to posting that the image has already been uploaded to Google+ and the original upload will be linked to if the uploader continues the post.

Here is an artists rendition of the new feature in action:

Some fictional Google spokesperson who doesn't really exist is hereby quoted as saying:
"Google+ is quickly establishing itself as THE social network for photographers and other artists to share their original work and build a following. Google highly approves of their social network being adopted in this manner and is taking the necessary steps to help these artists protect their copyrights"

The fictional spokesperson went on to say that they plan on expanding this feature to original artwork of all kinds, including the first person to share a link to a blog post or article.

When questioned about situations where a non-copyright owner is the first to share an image on Google+, the fictional spokesperson pointed out that this feature will aid the artist in finding the original violator of the copyright - a potentially impossible task when original art can be cut, pasted, and reposted at will.

He mentioned plans to allow the artist to file a claim over their copyrighted work, and should the claim be validated the name of the original poster will be replaced by the copyright holder.

100% of the people who have read this suggestion prior to publishing have fully endorsed this addition to the social network, saying that part of the reason they support Google+ is because of Google's reputation of  doing the right thing.

*DISCLAIMER:  By today, I mean some day in the future when the people at Google in charge of these sort of things sees this article, recognizes the value of the suggestion, and initial implementation is completed.


This article is an homage to the genius advertisers who like to make advertisement that look indistinguishable from actual articles other than the word 'advertisement' in tiny font at the top and bottom.

Suggestion to Improve Google+

World of Grim: Google+

You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw

Slightly different than Mr. Shaw, I'm not particularly concerned about the "Why not?" Seems to me that's just asking for excuses. Instead, posts prefaced with "World of Grim:" will be articles from the standpoint of how things would be if I was in charge of how things were.

For my first installment, I'll be exploring some possibilities of how much cooler Google+ could be.

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Google+ Profile
My main grievance is with the current lack of product integration. Some great opportunities for it are regulated to the "Links" area in the "About" section of your profile.

As you can see in this image, both of my blogs and my twitter account can be accessed by links when you view my profile. Virtually all blogs have RSS (Real Simple Syndication) options that allow you to have all the blogs you like to read delivered to one convenient reading location. Google has a product called Google Reader for this very purpose.

In the World of Grim, Google Reader would be integrated into Google+ by adding a Blogs profile tab in the navigation bar. When editing my profile under that tab, I'd be able to choose whether the RSS feed from all of the blogs associated with my Google+ account displayed under that tab. You'd be able to view my profile and see RSS feeds from those I chose to share with people viewing my Google+ profile, and I'd have the option whether to share those feeds publicly or only with certain circles. It would probably look something like this: