So we’re going on our third day of Google+ and you may be asking yourself “what in the heck is this thing?” Well I’ll provide my insight but keep in mind I’ve only been on the platform for less than 48 hours!
Google+ to me is like taking elements of Facebook, Twitter, the old TokBox, Foursquare and Beluga and rolling them all up into one. Throw on top of that a slick new way to segment your contacts (Circles) and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Google+ is about.
So let’s quickly break down the top-line features:
(Click on the feature to be taken to an overview video.)
- Huddle – The Beluga like portion of Google+ mobile is a group messaging system that lets everyone inside a particular circle know what’s going on instantly.
- Sparks – Lets you search for any subject you like and returns relevant content on that subject. You can then share that content with your Circles or (if you get the Chrome plugin) to Twitter or Facebook.
- Hangouts – for those of you that have used different video chat services like TokBox or ooVoo, Hangouts will be right up you alley. You can start a hangout at any time and video chat with up to 10 of your peeps inside Google+.
- Check-Ins – Think Foursquare, Gowalla or Facebook Places. This services is on Google+ mobile and allows you to check in at your favorite venue and is tied to Google Places. The coolest thing about Check-ins that it integrates tightly with your Circles to share your checkins with only the people you want to see them. You can actually choose who sees what on a checkin-by-checkin basis.
- Circles – Now you can more easily segment your network into more manageable “circles” such as friends, family, colleagues and big dogs that could be noisy. I made the last list because of Robert Scoble and after you read the following instructions he left of his Google+ stream, you will see why:
How to protect yourself against “Scoble virus.”
1. Put me in a circle called “noisy buttheads.”
2. Unfollow me on all other circles.
Sorry, but this is a problem with comment-based systems. People like me who have lots of connections to lots of people will show up in lots of places and cause lots of conversations.
Oh, while we’re talking about this.
3. Change your email settings so you don’t get email notifications everytime I cause a hot post to happen on your account.
4. I don’t care about who is following me. You are defined by who YOU FOLLOW not who follows you.
Sorry for the noise amidst the news.
Is Google+ going to be the Facebook killer? Probably not. Because as Robert Scoble so eloquently stated this morning, “Yo Momma Won’t Use Google+!” BUT….and that is a big but, Google+ is going to start to fragment the social world. I think Google+ meets a ton of the needs for more critical and advanced users of social networks and they may spend less time (at least for the next month or so) on Facebook and Twitter. I do really love the meshing of Facebook and Twitter elements…I can follow people I find interesting and learn from (Twitter) and I can interact with people I have a closer relationship with (Facebook).
That’s my two cents, now I’d love to hear your thoughts of Google+.
Derek, great overview of Google+! I’m just sorting through the functionality right now and so far I’m impressed. Google managed to give the user control of how we manage conversations and “streams” with an incredibly simple and visual UI.
I agree with you that this is not a FB killer by any means, but for social networkers looking for a better way to segment conversation and relationships, I think it’s a game changer.
I am absolutely loving the simplicity of the drag and drop functionality – I can see that I have to think of my relationship segmentation differently because I have much more control in this environment.
I guess now it’s just a matter of wait and see – will there be mass adaption? Not sure. I do know that it will have more traction than Google Wave
See ya in the Circles, my friend!
Derek… some good input here. I think for now, this is just great news for those social geeks.. Here is my whole take on it…
I think it’s easy for people to lose their focus… and spread themselves thin… I have done that and don’t want to repeat it… same goes for EA… the people that promote and follow each other.. buy each other… most are in the same circle… #justsayin unless I am missing something… I guess I prefer to drink my own cool aid for now… ;o)
Overall, my opinion regarding google + and Empire… if you are a realtor, a landscaper, lawyer, …jelwery designer, etc, etc… and you want business from the average consumer, would you want to spend a lot of focus on these 2 new sites? Or spend it with a lot of social media geeks that get it, but will be with just each other… Curious… #justsayin
ps… or maybe I am just missing it all.. ;o) But I think I will join both, but sit back for the most of it…if it explodes, I know I could catch up. My main focus, how I can be found by the consumer…
One HUGE fail. Failure to support us with google apps accounts. Gets annoying when they dont support us who use their services for everything.
Is this going to turn into a Mac vs PC, Michigan vs Michigan State type of thing?
Derek,
This is exactly the information I needed to know. I’ve NEVER had a Facebook account because I simply didn’t trust the intentions of such an endeavor. But this Google+ fits better into my world and meets my social networking needs, and these needs have nothing to do with old classmates and family members, I use my blog for that kind of thing, it gives me more “control” over all the things that DO go wrong on Facebook.
I hope you and the family are doing well. Kiss the Luv Muffin for me!