I don’t know about you, but when I heard about Google+ I thought to myself “Oh great, another social network to sign up for and deal with.” In fact, I was *this* close to just ignoring the invite I received.
Even though I was severely let down with Google Wave (RIP), I decided to give Plus a shot since it was a Google product. I figured, it *is* Google after all – would they really put themselves in a positiion to follow up Wave with another lemon?
Besides, I have to admit that the new look they gave Gmail is incredibly sexy, so I choose to go ahead and take the Google+ plunge. And here are 5 reasons I’m glad I did…
Consolidation of My Accounts
Thought I may not give up Facebook (completely), I have to admit that receiving Google+ notificiations while I’m inside my Gmail account makes life just a bit easier. I simply hate having to check all of my social media accounts, as it’s staring to feel like a chore.
When I think about it, this reminds me of the Rejected by 7 Different Technologies scene from the movie He’s Just Not That Into You.
It’s Got This Tiny Little Edit Link
I don’t know if you ever misspell words or make typos in your Facebook statuses or iPhone texts, but I do it all the time. (and we’re not the only ones)
Nothing like saying… “I just lurv when eye mispelll words” in a comment and then following it with “LOL, I hate autocorrect.”
I know right?
Admit it, the ability to edit your status updates or comments on the fly (and not looking lame) in your own space is pretty appealing.
I Like Me Some Circles
Maybe I haven’t (gasp) spent enough time on Facebook, but to the best of my knowledge there isn’t a way to group those who you are friends with. The truth is, that’s really a bad label for that group as a whole, as I’m not truly friends with them.
You might ask yourself why I accepted their friendship requests, then, right?
I do enjoy people and reading what folks have to say – however, similar to Twitter Lists, I’ve really enjoyed the ability to create circles in Google+.
This gives me access to reading what all of the people I have in circles have to say, but also to get to the juicy stuff by only seeing the stream of my friends.
It’s kinda of like having a priority inbox…
The Sexy Design Cannot Be Ignored
As I previously mentioned with Gmail, the design of Google’s line of products is oh so nice. I just love the simplicity of the layouts and the readability of the content.
I also go through phases where I like particular fonts and styles and right now that happens to be minimalistic design. (note a recent Genesis child theme, called Minimum, that I developed and released on StudioPress.)
Somehow Google has the ability to paint black, white, gray and dabs of red and blue in a way that just “works” for me.
Something Tells Me That It’ll Be Around For a While
Unlike many wannabe social networks, Google+ has serious development chops behind it, and I think it’s one of the only chances at a Facebook takedown. In fact, within the past week, I’ve already had over 1100 people add me to a circle, which exceeds the amount of friends I’ve managed to be with on Facebook.
This is most definitely not me standing on a soapbox, rather pointing out how many people have already flooded to Google+.
The bottom line is that I think Google+ will be successful and be around for a while. And I’m not the only person who thinks so either.
So tell me what you think about Google+ by leaving a comment below…
AND OH, Google+ me!
I like the sound of Google+, but haven’t got an invite yet to check it out
Hearing about those features makes it sound even better.
You can group friends on Facebook, mind. Your default home page shows all posts, but when you have groups set up they’re listed on the left hand side and you can view only posts from those groups – a lot like twitter lists. You can also limit your own updates so that only specific friend groups can see them.
Thanks for pointing out the ability to group people in Facebook. I suppose if it was more intuitive to use, I’d have known that.
While I dont see any vast improvements over facebook in Google+ the thing I most like about it is that everything I now have is in one place once browser. I use google docs alot so sharing documents is a breeze. To add to that we have google video chat voice and chat integrated right there and then there is gmail itself. Google is looking to completely replace the desktop with everything in the browser this is where I think they will win. As for leaving facebook… I need those addictive games to come to google+
I completely agree – and love that all of it is one place.
I like working in one desktop and would really like to do it. But, I can’t figure out how to get my premiere Google email into the desktop, just the free gmail. It seems that Premiere accounts are like step children not exactly in favor of the step parent. I admit I may have missed a step but a Google search didn’t help. And, they are the kings of search, right.
One big difference with the Google Circles vs a Twitter list or grouping in FB, is the fact that you can decide who gets what messages. If you set up a circle of friends, and you publish to just that circle, they’re the only ones that see it. It’s a privacy feature coupled with a feed organizer. Pretty sexy imho.
FB groups work the same way. You publish to a specific group, they’re the only ones that can see it.
1- In FB we can group friends, but in groups we’ll only see those posts that were posted in the group not each individual post from that group of friends.
2- A lot of users has complained about FB’s auto-grouping, coz that fill your news feed & email box with a lot of unwanted notifications, yes we can go to each groups page and edit all that. But then not everyone knows how to do that.
3- In G+ circles are private, like only you know who you put in which circle. That way we have a full control over the privacy & contents.
and yes G+ is well integrated & well supported throughout Google.
I think it will have the same tipping point that MySpace did for me: When the majority of the people I interact with most have moved to Google+ I’ll stop using Facebook. So far (only about a week) I really like it! I just wish it had a way to nest groups. I know I can add people to multiple groups but nesting is more like the way I think!
Mike, I’m sure there will be a lot of things changing with Google+ in the months to come. At the very least, it’s existence will create a back and forth of feature adds and perks between Plus and Facebook.
I’m going to need more time before I can give an accurate and honest verdict on Google + but it seems to be super cool so far. The design is great, but the jury is still out on everything else.
I agree – I’m not 100% sold, but considering how much I like it after only one week, the prognosis is good. Apparently Facebook is getting another UI overhaul, so I’ll be curious how that will play into the picture.
The constant changes to Facebook is exactly what drives me crazy about Facebook. Not that they make changes, but that they make changes and tell no one that they made these changes. I find out the hard way when something I like to do in Facebook either no longer works or works differently. With Google+, I’m sure there will be changes since it’s still in beta, I just hope they let us know via the blog or some other means of communicating. Facebook probably has a way of telling its users of the changes, I’ve just never figured out how they do that.
I agree with you Brian. I never was a Facebook fan. That’s not fluid enought and difficult to make some effective filters. In Google+ with circle, it remind me Mindmapping and you can build them on the fly. That’s very easy to make the right choice. Last thing, I’m a big fan of the new interface. So I stop to play with all the other themes.
Heh, I swore I’d never leave the Gmail theme I was using, but the moment I laid eyes on the new theme, I fell in love. I really hate to admit how much Google has me, in pretty much the same way Apple does.
I’m an apple fan since 1982. So…what should I say
Google+ rocks! I do hope they allow Google Apps accounts to sign up soon though.
Only time will tell!
I’d love to see a StudioPress Hangout where one of your great dev’s hosts a chat to talk about stuff related to StudioPress/Genesis et al.
That is most definitely something we can do – we were planning on doing Twitter chats at some point, but perhaps the Hangout idea might be a much better one.
I’d be interested in seeing how hangouts work out for you, seeing as only 9 people other than the key speaker can view it at any time. I’d say that you’ll have a larger audience with twitter, but hangout chats would be an interesting experiment.
Completely agree.
Hey Brian, What is ur favori? Facebook or Google+?
Hard to say after only a week, but I definitely like Google Plus.
I also have really enjoyed Google+ since joining a week or so ago. It has a nice clean minimal design and the interface is just intuitive for me. I definitely think they’ll be around for a while..
http://gplus.to/moneymatters
Hi Brian, great post! Google+ seems to be everything I have been looking for in Facebook. The only thing that still seems slightly unclear is just how we can use it in business ie. Facebook pages. I have been trying hard to get in to test but have had no luck. The idea Steve May has for a StudioPress Hangout is really cool – maybe that is how we can use Google+ in business?
I bet you that Google+ will somehow work business “pages” into the mix somehow – they’d be silly not to.
(This not directed at you, Brian. ) I think anyone putting themselves out there as marketing, advertising or social media experts must sign up for G+ and use it and tell us about it. How can you be an expert in this field and not know about something this new and possibly real big? I expect my social media experts to have used and know about failed ideas such as wave and buzz. I’m surprised more “experts” are not participating.
Good call Stephanie, and one of the reasons I wrote the post. More importantly, there are a few industry leaders, such as Chris Brogan, who is going at great lengths to blog about and share his experiences. Just this morning he wrote about getting started with Google+.
Agreed. On all counts.
After a week, I agree with everything you’re saying. I knew about the groupings in Facebook, but it was not intuitive. I just get curious (aka looking for something other than work to do…like now). Get me an iPhone app (said to already be submitted) and for now, I’ll be playing on both.
I think G+ posts are incarnation of Google Wave. The UI of G/Wave was a disaster. But I see similarities of concept.
If anything, circles is a major key in G+. It’s a segmentation principle that works pretty well. I foresee an adoption of business circles once Goog advances with profiles for business to integrate Places+Offers+mobile. When that happens, FB might feel some jolt as Google has the infrastructure to go head to head with them.
I also think it will be around – I don’t believe it will knock Facebook off the map by any means. And I intend to use both.
What I love about G+ is the Circles, I feel more organized than I feel on my personal Facebook. I like the fact I can network like I do on LinkedIn but it seems more approachable than LinkedIn.
I think what people need to remember is not everyone embraced Facebook initially [I know I didn't know what it was when I first got into it] and even Google can go through growing pains. I find it to be exciting.
I hope they let brands & nonprofits on sooner than later – I’m noticing brands trying to sneak on it anyway and I wonder if Google will actually knock them out (Mashable for instance seems to be able to do it).
We shall all see!
Have a great one,
Bambi
There’s hundreds of millions of people on Facebook, some who love it, some who use it because there really isn’t any alternative.
Until now – with Google Plus, there’s at least another option for people who want to communicate via a social network.
Like you said, we’ll see!
Brian, I just have one question.
Let’s say you were allowed just two share buttons on your blog. One of them had to be Twitter. The second would be your choice – Facebook share, or Google Plus.
Which would you chose?
It’s really hard to say – I need more time to pass… I’d have to see where my blog audience really is – Facebook or Google Plus.
Slick design, great integration, easy to organize people into “Circles” and thus cancel out the noise… These are all reasons that make Google+ great for me. Yes I prefer it to Facebook and because of the integration, I’m far more likely to log into Google+ than Facebook.
Will I downright ditch Facebook? I can’t. I think we’ve all (too some extent) investment far too much time to just up and go. But if pressed to choose, I choose Google+.
I completely agree. Like 200% with everything you said in your comment, Ricardo.
I’m excited to see how this plays out. I never used FB because they had to go thru several lawsuits in order to get their privacy issues in order I want willing to take the risk. I love the google product because they are proactive not reactive. I think Google learned their lesson with Wave and after licking their wounds they are about to become the 800 pound gorilla of social networks give them 3 years tops. Still waiting on my invite Google
I’m sure the invite will come soon enough. And yes, I believe that Google will definitely give Facebook a run for it’s money.
I have been on several dozen social networking sites and I have owned one for 3 years. People tend to leave sites only if there is some type of very major problem, or most of their friends have left. I have been on sites full of bugs that members complain about almost daily, but they don’t leave. The reason that people stay is that they are there for the people and not for the site. If they can get ALL of their friends to join Google+ AND use it, then they might abandon Facebook and other sites. Otherwise, they will maintain multiple accounts.
I pretty much agree with you, but I will say that Google Plus will most definitely make it as appealing as possible to encourage people to leave Facebook.
And the one reason it won’t work because outside a few tech friends, only a small % of your rl will ever leave FB.
For the most part (with a few peeps like you as an exception) most of my online correspondance takes place between me and tech friends…
Yesterday in the town hall session, Matt asked how many were using G+ and then FB. The number was about the same. G+ has been out a couple weeks. Whether or not it ends up with 700M users, I think G+ is a solid hit with the tech crowd.
That’s amazing Ron… it just goes to show how many people are using Google for other stuff (Gmail, Apps, Calendar) and trust them enough to hop onboard that quickly.
G+ definitely has a better feel to it than Facebook and because it is open, it is easier to find and add people to circles, which is another great feature Facebook does not have. Right now the early adopters are raving about G+, but will the “average guy” move over to G+, that is a big question I have. None of my “real” friends are on G+ yet and I don’t see that happening for quite a while.
I don’t know if the average person will move – many people (my wife included) just love Facebook, and I doubt very seriously she’ll want to make such a life change.
my wife is in the same boat, I sent her an invitation and she ignored it. lol.
Did she at least open the email?
She opened it, but didn’t click. She even said, “I got your invite.” ….. then did nothing.
I was sorry to miss the launch. Still waiting for my invitation
I’m sure it’ll come – they seem to be opening up all the time.
Any luck on getting an invite?
No, nothing yet
Finally! Just feeling my way gradually.
So who has gotten invites? Techies only?
the design is beautiful… I’ve said it on my G+ feed like a million times. But it’s very nice. I changed all my gmail themes over as well. It’s like a whole new system. It made me feel so good and clean, that I decided to clean out and reorganize the data on my harddrives. I’m like a new man! thanks Google
The second I saw the new Gmail theme, I fell in love. And this was after I really had enjoyed the theme I was using for quite some time.
I’m not much of a tech person, but I have been able to start understanding Google+ which shows it is simple enough non-techie people can use it as long as they know how to use gmail. One thing I like is the circles concept of somebody putting you in their circle, but you don’t have to be in theirs.
Plus pretty much since they opened Facebook up to the general public instead of just school’s and businesses, it has become spam central between people you don’t know wanting to be your friend just to add to their list. And the stupid app’s and games you get invites to no matter how many you block.
If they make a feature to link status updates like Twitter does being able to update your facebook status with your non-reply tweets, I would definitely cut back on the Facebook checking since I have e-mail alerts for important stuff like new messages and wall posts.
I completely agree – I’m really beginning to think Facebook is a huge billboard for all kinds of things. I doubt very seriously that Google will inundate Plus with a bunch of advertisements, primarily because it doesn’t really need the money as badly as Facebook does.
Good write up Brian
I don’t use Twitter or Facebook… there I’ve said it.
Perhaps I can bypass all the usual social media and jump straight in to Google+.
I’ll check out the Chris Brogan article.
Cheers Brian
BTW – love that Minimal Theme – really trying hard to use it somewhere.
Heh – I love it too. It’s one of the few themes that I designed from scratch that I *really* like. And not on Twitter or Facebook? GASP!
I know
Am I the only guy on the planet who has never tweeted? LOL
That’s quite a possibility. Here, I’ll make it easy on you.
Click here to join Twitter…
So can we hit you up for an invite?
I can see if I have some – do you still need one?
I do
I just got on Google + so I’m still trying to figure it out but I already like it way better than Facebook. Great post.
Congrats Carol – many folks are still waiting for invites. Let me know what you think…
Isn’t it interesting that most people respond they’ll use one or the other, but not BOTH Facebook & Google+ ?? Apparently there’s only room for one Sheriff in town!
I don’t know if that’s completely true – some folks (myself included) have indicated that we might *need* to use both. One for friends, one for business.
I have muscle memory for automatically hiding any and all games from my Facebook stream, so I kind of forget that they exist – but I think they’re a huge reason many people enjoy Facebook. I’d say a large percentage of my “moms at home” friends come to Facebook for the games as well as the social interaction. If Google+ does open up the platform to games/apps along the same lines, I’m hoping they’ll do it in a way that makes it easier to keep the stream uncluttered.
+1, what you said.
Somebody (COUGH COUGH STUDIOPRESS) needs to make a way to put that +1 button inside comments. Or wait, maybe COUGH COUGH GOOGLE.
Or maybe not.
Eh great idea Dorian.
Anybody in mind? LOL
Good article Brian. I am soooo excited to hear about this. Would love to get an invite and try Google +. FB has been annoying by bombarding you with advertising on the side of your news feeds and home page. I truly detest the infringement of my privacy. The fact that I have to constantly remain updated to keep my personal settings, information and photos just that personal. It is a hassle in an harassing sort of way to constantly have to block unwanted game requests. Urrrgghhh….I can not be the only one who feels this way. Somebody please do me a favor if you can send an invite I would be most appreciative. Thank You!
Great post! I am not yet sold — but your points are well taken!
Is it okay if I only say two things?
1. I LOVE Google+
2. I was impressed with your G+ profile – especially the pictures in the top section. Have to design my profile too I guess. Looks great.
Thanks Sebastian, I had fun putting that top section together.
I use Goolge+ , it’s like the same facebook….But I like some new function don’t have in facebook
Both have their own core functions and they look and work about the same. Who will stand out? I guess only time will tell.
Fantastic Plug-in.
Nevertheless, you may want to give this (http://www.umpf.co.uk/blog/social-media/google-plus-ghost-town-g-social-shares-lowest-compared-to-facebook-twitter-and-even-linkedin/) a thought concerning Google+.
Not saying this is the whole story, but Google+ – for all the sleek design – seems to still lack the little “something” that makes people share and care.