Google+ Review

On June 28th Google released a new networking tool titled “Google+”  This latest project is currently still being rolled out and is by invite only.  Luckily I was able to get an invite from Friends of Free (Thanks again!)

So what does it do?
Google+ provides a revolutionary way to share and obtain information in a more natural and personable way.  It is like Facebook, Twitter and the future all rolled into one neat, easy to use product.  When you first get access to Google+ it is recommended that you create a profile.  This profile contains all the information that you want to share about yourself.  The profile, as with every aspect of Google+, enables you to easily control who can see your information.  Privacy is very important and upfront. (The only information that is always going to be available to everyone is your name and gender.)  The information that you add into your profile will help others find you.  So the more you add the easier it will be for others to find you.

Currently Google+ is broken down into three sections:

Circles:  Circles help you organize all of the people you associate with into groups.  Once a person is in a circle, you can easily control the amount of information they have access to.  So you can safely share, or not share, information much easier than you can with other “social network” programs.  

Adding someone to one of your circles is easy.  To add someone to one of your circles you can either enter in the person’s email address or click on “Follow” button located on their profile.  

Unlike other products their is no weird “friend request” process.  Since privacy is so intertwined into the system it isn’t needed, anyone can follow anyone.  The only catch is your only see what that person allows you to see.    

Here’s some examples of how it works:  
Example 1) Baby is finally born and I want to tell my relatives.  I simply write my announcement, attach a photo or video (if I choose), and send the message to the circle I created for my family members.  The message will then only be visible to those people.  Now here’s the best part!  The family members that don’t use Google+ will be emailed what ever information I posted.  So now their will be no need to post information for my “social” savvy family members and then I separate email to your other family members.  

Example 2)  Let’s say I’m thinking about seeing the new Transformers movie but want to make sure it is good first.  I would simply type up my question and post it without designating it to a particular circle.  This will send the question to every person I am following and every person who is following me.  Since anyone can follow anyone it is quite possible that a stranger could provide me with a helpful review.  This type of communication is way beyond what you can do with other networking sites.       

How Google Describes Circles:  “Google+ Circles helps you organize everyone according to your real-life social connections--say, 'family,' 'work friends,' 'music buddies,' and 'alumni'. Then, you can share relevant content with the right people, and follow content posted by people you find interesting. For example, you might post an announcement about your engagement and show it only to people in your friends and family circles, or maybe you see a post from the circle you created for your book club that there's a recent article on your favorite author.

You can also decide to customize your personal profile information for your circles. For example, your contact details, location, and relationship information would be visible to your friends circle, while your employment history and education would be visible to your alumni association circle.”

Hangouts:  Hangouts allow you to have video, voice and text chat with a person, group of specific people, a circle, multiple circles, etc all at the same time.  This is like Skype on steroids!  This makes it very easy to collaborate on a work project or catch up with your family.

How Google Describes Hangouts:“Hangouts are the best way for you to say, “I’m online and want to hangout!” Hangouts lets you:

• Chill with friends that are scrolling through the web, just like you! 

• Use live video chat that puts you in the same room together!

• Coordinate plans, whether it's working on a project or meeting up for coffee.

• Maybe you’re bored. Start a hangout, invite your circles, see who’s around!”

Sparks:  Sparks allows you to receive a stream of information about various topics that interest you.  For example, if you are interested in exercise you could add a Spark for it and you would get provided with recent relevant content.  That information can then be easily shared, along with your comments, to others.

How Google Describes Sparks:
“When you first arrive in Sparks, you'll see a collection of featured interests. If nothing strikes your fancy, search for a different interest. 

Let's say you're learning to juggle. You can search for 'juggling,' then add it as an interest so you can always be kept up to date on the world of object manipulation. And if you get tired of people calling you a clown all the time, you can remove this interest.”

My overall thoughts:

As a fan of Google, I’m really excited that they not only created this service but did it so well.  For months, insiders have been writing articles that Google was trying to develop a Facebook killer.  (Something they still deny.)  When I first started fooling around with Google+ I was impressed with how easy it was to use and how clean it looked (no advertisements!). But at the same time I wondered why someone would need the product since almost everyone was already uses Facebook and/or Twitter.  But after fooling around for just a short time I began to realize why this was so much better.  It combined the best of both Facebook and Twitter, while at the same time feeling fresh and new. Google+ is the next phase of social networking! Here’s the main reasons why it is better:

• Privacy is easy and straight forward!
• No asking (or being asked) to be friends with someone you barely know.
• Can share information with people you don’t even use the program.
• Can be social with people you don’t know in a non-weird way.

I don’t know if this is a Facebook killer (yet) but it is definitely a game changer.  Way to go Google you did a great job!

To learn more go to: https://plus.google.com

If you want a Google+ invite 

send me a message!