With Schemer, Google Plots to Bolster Its Social Efforts

From Wired:

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.