I’m trying not to get too excited about Google+.
I remember when Google Buzz launched about a year ago. I was all jacked up, and within a few weeks I felt pretty silly for contributing to the over-hype of what has turned out to be a dud thus far.
And as genuine as my efforts for objectivity are, I can’t deny that I’m a Google fanboy and am cheering for them to succeed in the social space.
So, yes, I am excited about Google+ and here are some of my notes on the new platform.
I hope they help your exploration of Google+ in one way or another. At the very least it’ll be fun to look back on this in a year and measure the accuracy (or inaccuracy) of my assessments and predictions.
Layout
Even though Google+ looks a lot like Facebook (e.g. stream=news feed; +1=Like; comments=comments), it feels cleaner, with less marketing and more original, user-generated content*. Fewer sponsored ads and news-feed stories like, “John Smith is now friends with Bill Smith and 47 other people.”
Google’s new social platform’s likeness to Facebook may serve Google+ well in that people may be more willing to use a new channel if it seems familiar. In contrast, Twitter is such a foreign language to most Facebook users that they avoid it like the plague.
Still, one layout component I would change would be to allow the ability to organize and prioritize the list of circles on the home page rather than having it stuck in an alphabetical sort. A drag-and-drop functionality would be nice.
Circles
For me, Facebook is where I can connect with people I actually know and Twitter is where I read and learn from experts, many of whom I’ve never met in person.
Google+ feels like a place where I could bring both of these groups together, but still keep them organized without a lot of hassle. A hybrid of friendships and content…like Twitter in a Facebook suit.
Still, this is all contingent on people adopting Google+. In addition, there’s a lot of value and weight placed on Facebook friendships and that, combined with the sheer size of the Facebook user-base, and the time that people have spent building up their friends and audiences, means Facebook isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Twitter, on the other hand, doesn’t have Facebook’s numbers. Also interesting to note that Google is no longer incorporating Tweets into its searches. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, but I can see Google+ as much more of a threat to Twitter than it is to Facebook. However I still prefer Twitter over Facebook and will continue to use all three channels.
Search
Google+ plus does not currently have a search function.
I don’t understand this either, so if you have any idea why Google, a search engine, would not have search built-in from the ground up, please share with the group.
This is one advantage that Twitter has over Google+ and I still find hashtags and trending topics one of the most valuable components of social media for organizing content around a topic, event or news item rather than solely around the producers of the content.
Still, it can’t be too long until Google+ adds a search function.
Businesses and Brands
Google+ has not offered a space for businesses or brands to engage on the platform. They are working on this, but needless to say I’m anxious to see what kind of opportunities their offering presents for businesses and customers to connect.
I really like Ford social media lead Scott Monty’s ideas in this article, which include letting customers choose what kind of content they want to receive from brands through circles and offering group video chats for customers to interact with company experts. Exciting stuff.
Still, can’t argue with Facebook’s numbers. And since most people are going to be on Facebook for a while, I can see Facebook continuing to dominate the business-to-consumer communications while Google+ works to catch up and build its user base.
Your thoughts on Google+?
*This is also taking into consideration that most of the people that I’ve seen on Google+ so far are the early-adopter, social-media-guru type people and thus are more apt to post original content than your average user.