As I’m sure many of you have heard, Google has entered the social media realm with its newest addition to the family, Google+. With the news of this release many have come to wonder whether the social networking platform will preside over our beloved Facebook and Twitter. Google+ is currently in the testing phase of its process, and can only be accessed with an invite. Ultimately, each of the invited beta testers, including me, is confronted with the question, Google+, is it a plus or minus?
When you enter the site, you are greeted by a simple yet friendly user interface. It looks like the Facebook “Wall” but without much of the clutter. From there you are able to hone in on what most are calling the key feature of this newly developed world, “Circles.”
“Circles” has created the biggest buzz among Google+ enthusiasts. As with Facebook lists,you can organize the content you want to share according to groups of users (friends, co-workers, etc.) However, unlike Facebook you must use “Circles” to view the content of others. Sounds like a pain, right? Wrong. Google+ makes it simple to use, and allows you to drag and drop people into your “Circle” of choice. One of the most beneficial features of this tool is that you can pick and choose which “Circles” receive specific content that you have to share. This is beneficial in sharing items only relevant to one cluster of people, such as co-workers. You can keep your private and professional lives as separate as you like.
Entering this corner of the arena after social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter, Google+ is able to take the key features of these sites, put its spin on them, and make these features that much better. Like Facebook, Google+ has a status update field that allows you to share on other people’s streams, and it allows you to “+1” the post, similar to the “Like” button on Facebook. Google+ also offers a “Share” button, similar to the Twitter re-tweet.
By integrating users’ favorite features from Facebook and Twitter, Google+ could become a strong contender in the race for the most popular social media platform. According to a recent report by Paul Allen, of Ancestry.com (not to be confused with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen), Google+ is likely to quickly reach an estimated 10 million users. With such gurus predicting growth, and with the features that Google+ offers, it is sure to be a plus in the eyes of many.
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Emma Walter is an apprentice for WordWrite Communications. You can find her on Twitter @emmasreallytall.
