It’s only been out a few weeks, but Google+ is exploding in popularity. For the time being, it’s an invite-only service, but invitations are relatively easy to come by. I got mine from Sarafina Kernberger when I saw a tweet that was retweeted by Revision 3 (her employer) that she had invites to give out.
Before I get into my thoughts on this new social media service, I want to say I love when Google rolls out a new service by invitation only. It’s how I started on GMail, and now Google+ is just as nice for me. There really is only one reason I like it, I have such a common name that it’s almost impossible to get an account with it on most services. I need to use a handle, or screen name. That just got more difficult for me in the last month or so. I have been “Echo Zoe” (sometimes with the space, often times without) for about 8 years. However, now I am growing Echo Zoe as a ministry, and am in the process of incorporating it as a non-profit. Because of this, I feel the need to begin separating Echo Zoe from myself as an “alter-ego”. I got my name on GMail, something that wouldn’t have been possible without the invitation system. (Though don’t bother emailing me there, I was so glad to get it, but I don’t use it much, and I would be surprised if I check it more than once or twice a year.) As for Google+, to be accurate, everyone just gets a long user number, but another service cropped up to create short names. I got gplus.to/andyolson! Again, something that wouldn’t be possible if the system had just been opened directly to all comers from the start.
That said here are my thoughts:
On one hand, I really like it. It’s a neat, clean system. It’s easy to use. I see it as a cross between Facebook and Twitter, taking the best features of each, and adding a few more.
Because it’s, in many ways, a cross between Twitter and Facebook, a lot of people are saying it’s going to kill one or the other. Most see it as a Facebook killer, I’m not so sure.
The similarities to Facebook are the most obvious. You have a stream, which is a lot like the wall on Facebook. You can post links, pictures, and videos. You can comment. You can “like”, though Google brands this feature “+1”. You can share something someone else has posted. The profile page is a lot like Facebook, with a lot of the same information.
Google ups the ante with “Circles” though. This is a feature that could have saved me a few “defriends” if Facebook had it. A circle is a group. Anyone can be in a circle, and can be in multiple circles. In fact, to get connected, they have to be in at least one circle. If it’s someone you don’t personally know, the “following” circle is among the defaults in the account and fits the bill perfectly.
That raises a point where the two are different. You can put anyone in your circles. You don’t request someone be added to your friends and wait for them to confirm. You just add them to a circle (or several), and they will get a notification that they’ve been added by you, which allows them to add you if they so choose. Of course, to keep trouble-makers at bay, anyone can be blocked.
Commenting is another big similarity. Huge discussions can be started with a single post. This isn’t something I do a lot of in Facebook, but it is very popular on both services.
Fortunately what Google+ lacks, and I hope they never institute, is apps. There are few things more annoying than a feed that is cluttered with Farmville posts and requests to join Mafia Wars.
The similarities with Twitter are numerous. As already mentioned, you can follow anyone, whether or not you know them, or they follow you back. In fact, similar to twitter, the experience is best if you follow some people you don’t personally know. For example, I’ve been a technology buff for a long time, so I naturally follow people like Leo Laporte and Patrick Norton (of This Week in Tech and Revision 3 respectively). I follow politics, so I will follow political junkies in Google+. I also enjoy podcasting, so I follow people who are in the podcasting business (people who podcast about podcasting.) There are many other people involved in many other areas of interest worth following.
Also similar to Twitter, is the feed. Though that is admittedly a lot like Facebook too.
Where Google+ excels above Twitter is, first and foremost, the lack of post size limits. At times, I find the 140 character limit to be a strength, but usually it isn’t. Having to abbreviate a short thought because it isn’t short enough is a sizable annoyance. Adding a link to that thought makes it even harder. It makes me wonder how long link shortening services like bit.ly and is.gd will last when Twitter goes by the wayside. Twitter will probably be around a while, but probably not in it’s current form.
Another similarity is that the whole world can see your Google+ page. You can decide to keep posts and information tight, and only allow certain people to see it, but you can also post things that anyone can see. Go ahead, click the link above and take a look at my page, even if you’re not on Google+, you should be able to see some of what I’ve posted.
The Threat
As I mentioned before, many people see Google+ as a threat to Facebook. There are some who see it as a threat to Twitter. I think each has it’s purpose and it’s users, but would guess that it’s a bigger threat to Twitter than Facebook. Facebook has always been, in my opinion, a never-ending online high school reunion. Its purpose and its user base is for people who know the people they’re connected to. People network on Facebook, and add others they want to get to know, but this has always been something that Facebook has, at best, tolerated. They have never really encouraged it. You also see this in the constant backlash over privacy. People go beyond what Facebook was made for, and people they don’t know learn more about them than they wanted them to know. (Not a consequence that should shock them, in my opinion.) Google+ lets you decide who sees what. You decide while you’re filling out your profile who can see the information you enter, and are asked every time you post who you’d like to see what you’re posting. If it’s something that is safe for the world to see, the whole world can see it. I’ll be on Facebook for the foreseeable future. It has its purpose and I don’t see it changing. There are a lot of people on Facebook that I don’t see creating Google+ accounts; grandmothers, aunts, friends from high school.
Twitter has more to worry about. Like Google+, it was never intended to be such a tight-nit community. It was always expected that people would follow others they don’t personally know. It was always great for networking with others with similar interests. That can be annoying in that people will follow others hoping only to get follow-backs (something I tried, but gave up.) People will do the same on Google+ as the user base grows, and it will annoy me just as much there. The 140 character limit is the biggest thing that threatens Twitter, as I mentioned before.
Final Thoughts
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and now Google+. I will probably be on all three until they cease to exist. Each has it’s strengths and weaknesses. Of the three, I think Google+ has the most potential, but each will maintain a niche. Facebook is great for keeping in touch with friends and family. There are people I have no idea how to contact, except through Facebook. Twitter is a great mobile platform, and it’s post size limit makes it a great platform for keeping up with news and things that interest you. I like that I can follow 150 people (or more) and be able to see everything they have to offer throughout the day. It’s not hard to blast through several hours of activity in a few minutes. It’s a great pointer to bigger things on the web. Google+ is great for following interesting people like you would on Twitter, with the freedom of Facebook.
I didn’t get into some of the unique features of Google+ that make it so popular, like hangouts. This is primarily because I haven’t been on long enough to try them out. I also don’t have the connections yet to give them a try. I am interested though. The ability to have a video conference with 10 people in it sounds really cool.