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Google Plus, The New Kid on the Social Media Block
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Google recently introduced its social networking service called, aptly, Google Plus (Google+). The service combines Google’s Profiles and Buzz features while adding new ones such as “Circles,” “Hangouts,” and many others. It was initially opened to selected known people in the tech field but the ability to send out a few invites, perhaps as a social media marketing service strategy, made the demand for getting in Google+ high. It is now speculated that Google+ will soon have 10 million users, making it the strongest contender to Facebook yet and certain to change the social media and website marketing landscape forever!
One of the more interesting feature of Google+ is its “Circles.” While Facebook does give its users control over their status messages and overall content, Google+ makes it a while lot easier with “Circles.” There are no confirmations of friend requests on Google+. Its users can easily organize what content is shared with whom by placing people they know into categories (i.e. “Circles). They are then given control of what is shared within a certain “Circle.” This includes posts made in the “Stream,” which is Google+’s version of Facebook’s Wall. This seems to indicate Google is offering more control over what is shared in general on Google+. This could very well be a very attractive selling point to Facebook users who find that the latter has become too intrusive with its use of the information made available by its users. Of course, Google will, to some extent, make use of the data in Google+ but most users already have accounts with Google that make their data available to it already. One marked difference here is the image Google has of securing its users data. Their company motto, “Do no evil,” certainly helps reinforce this sense of security.
Another feature that has caught the imagination is “Hangouts” where people on Google+ can hold group video chats. The virtual hangout is, at this moment, a unique service not seen in other social networking services. It currently can have 10 people in a hangout and the potential for this feature is still being discussed and tested.
Will Google+ be the end of Facebook? Probably not in a long while. The service is still in beta and there are a lot of bugs to work on and features to polish and flesh out. The potential is definitely there and hitting 10 millions users in such a short span of time is, without a doubt, very impressive. Still, this number is dwarfed by Facebook’s estimated 750 millions users. It will be an uphill climb to get those people to switch as most people tend to stay where the people they know stay. The current state of MySpace clearly shows that it is possible to topple the leader. At its peak, MySpace had 75 million users while Facebook started out as a networking site for college students with just a few thousand kids using the service.
What is definite is that Google’s entry into social networking will be good for the people using the service, no matter which network they are currently using. Competition will necessitate innovation both to maintain the current user base and to attract potential users to flock to the offered service. Whoever remains standing after all is said and done, it will be the users who will be the clear winners.
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