Google+ permits further integration with apps

Menlo Park, Calif.—Google Inc. is allowing business users of its various Google Apps, including Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Documents, to link by default to its Google+ social network for both external and internal social communications.

According to the company, while Google apps administrators already have been able to offer Google+ to users as part of a suite, the company now enables administrators to set Google+ as a companywide default for business, government and education editions of the various Google apps.

Google also has introduced a restricted option, with postings only within an organization's team for collaboration purposes. Its potential use appears similar to the burgeoning array of enterprise social networking tools offered by such companies as Jive Software, Salesforce.com Inc. and Yammer Inc.

Separately, Google announced that it is shutting down its Google TV Ads service, created five years ago to appeal to new-to-TV advertisers. The company said on its blog that digital video is a significant trend, and that it will “double down” on YouTube and AdWords for Video.