{"id":5351,"date":"2017-10-23T18:01:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T15:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beaconit.ro\/en\/?p=5351"},"modified":"2017-10-26T17:43:05","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T14:43:05","slug":"english-what-is-google-nearby-it-may-not-be-what-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beaconit.ro\/en\/what-is-google-nearby-it-may-not-be-what-you-think\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Google Nearby? It May Not Be What You Think"},"content":{"rendered":"Google Nearby notifications can send URLs to passers-by without the need for an app. Here\u2019s what you need to know about the latest beacon use case.<\/em><\/p>\n

Google Nearby has been growing in popularity in recent months. Ordinary businesses are learning about the opportunity to reach a new customer base and solution providers are seeing a brilliant opportunity to add value to their apps and platforms. However, with great popularity comes numerous questions. What is Google Nearby, how do Nearby notifications\u00a0work, and how can you use it?<\/p>\n

What is Google Nearby?<\/strong>
\nGoogle Nearby in\u00a0Android allows users to discover nearby devices or contextual information without an app. There are three types of these interactions: nearby messages, communication, and notifications.<\/p>\n

Messages<\/strong>\u00a0supports small binary (unencrypted) payloads to be shared between Android and iOS devices.<\/p>\n

Communications<\/strong>\u00a0is about bringing nearby users together digitally. This could be for data transfers, multi-screen gaming, or other kinds of sharing.<\/p>\n

Notifications<\/strong>\u00a0send location-specific notifications to users, no app install required. These come in the form of secure URLs.<\/p>\n

These Nearby Notifications are (now famously) linked to Bluetooth beacons. The good news is they\u2019re easy to use and don\u2019t require much in-depth knowledge. There are several reasons to use Google Nearby.<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

How about a\u00a0Google Nearby Example?<\/h2>\n

When Nearby first emerged, it was a\u00a0big deal<\/a>. Even now, it continues to make waves. Just recently, Google opened up their Connections API to developers. While it was previously only available to partners, now any and all happy Android developers\u00a0can give it a go<\/a>. Specifically, there are two key ways you can use Nearby.<\/p>\n

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  1. Advertise a URL. Want to direct passers-by to your website? To a related page with information about your products and further content? Nearby can make this easy by sending a URL to your visitors and those in the area. Plus, you can add a 40 character title. For example, \u201cWant free coffee?\u201d or \u201cLearn more about amphibious puppies!\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Trigger an app Intent. An Intent would be the description of an operation that is to be performed. For example, an action within an already installed app: open this option or file this data. When your user receives the app Intent via URL, the app will automatically run those parameters. If the app isn\u2019t installed, it can direct users to the Play Store to download the app (or any other page). What better way to get people to notice your proximity-based app than a proximity-based notification?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    How it works<\/strong>
    \nGoogle Nearby is incredibly special because it is present on all modern Android devices. If you\u2019re running any recent version of Android, you can see Nearby notifications. More importantly, your possible visitors or users can, too. This works through Google Play Services, which is a crucial (though often forgotten) beast that basically makes your phone work as expected. Locations APIs, Google Maps APIs, and several other things run through Google Play Services. It keeps your apps updated and, now, it\u2019s letting Google support more possibilities on your phone.<\/p>\n

    A few frequently asked questions about Google Nearby with beacons:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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