One of the most common things I see when a friend or family member joins Google+ is a simple post asking ‘Now What?’ Assuming they even had enough interest to try Google+. Many are comfortable on Facebook and see no reason to change. (I remember similar sentiments with mySpace & Facebook early on.) I personally still use both Twitter and Facebook, just to a lesser degree since joining Google+. This post is simply going to highlight some of the reasons I dig Google+ so much. In addition towards the end I will list a few of Google+’s ugly spots.
Following vs Friending (Circles?)
With Google+ you do not send friend requests. Instead you find someone you know or someone your interested in (a poet, a photographer, a journalist, a technologist, anyone) and follow them by adding them to a circle (similar to following someone on Twitter.
) Circles allow you to organize who you follow. You might simply create a single circle and throw everyone in there or you might end up with a circle for friends, for family, for musicians, for photographers, etc… Personally I have fifteen circles ranging from close friends to unknown photographers. Members of these circles do not know where I have assigned them, only that I am following them. I enjoy this level of customization and like that it is a core component of Google+ used throughout the system for enhanced sharing options.Sharing Content
By now almost everyone is familiar with the status update. Whether your doing 140 characters on Twitter or 420 characters on Facebook. I love that in Google+ your not limited to a set number of characters. In addition Google gives you formatting options: http://mashable.com/2011/07/12/the-google-cheat-sheet-pic/
This makes sharing on Google+ almost like a mini-blog. You can share as much or as little as you like. Further (expanding on the Circles concept mentioned above,) you have full control over who sees what you share. You can post publicly, to a specific individual, to extended circles (everyone in your circles as well as everyone in their circles,) or to a specific circle (family for example.) Here is a nice post that covers this in more detail: https://plus.google.com/103438332263642514693/posts/HQ24XFuVFx1 the image at the bottom of the post is especially helpful.
Sharing Photos
Similar to any other content you share on Google+ you define exactly which circles (or specific individuals) can see what photos. The interface is incredible and creates a much better browsing experience than Facebook’s photo interface.
Profile
I really like the simplicity and layout of profiles. There is plenty of room to get as detailed or as brief as you want. Further you can limit each of the profile sections to specific circles or individuals just like any other content you share on Google+.
Games
Many were afraid of the imminent arrival of games on Google+ but so far I would say they have been an incredible success. I love that I have not been spammed by endless automated messages from people I follow. No farmville requests here. I have seen exactly one message in my main stream about Angry Birds and it was not automated. Beyond the avoidance of spam, the games are actually fun. I have no doubt that Facebook games are fun as well, but because of the intense amount of spam, I stopped playing them.
Superficial reason I enjoy Google+
I really like the look of Google+ better than Facebook. I am tired of the blue. Google+ looks cleaner. Maybe this is nothing more than an artifact of Google+ being newer. Either way Facebook is likely due for a face lift (although they need to be careful at the same time – the last thing they want to do is give people a reason to try Google+.) Google+ is still evolving. Most of the development team are active posters or readers on Google+ and you can see user feedback being incorporated into Google+ weekly. Totally dig that.
Other Google+ Features
There are several other features that I have not used significantly. The most popular/useful one is hangouts. I have not done a hangout yet mainly because I do not have a camera or mic. Hangouts allow up to ten people to have a video conference. I’ve seen some pretty cool uses of this including live concerts and jam sessions. Sparks are another feature I have rarely used (and at least from what I have read seem to be much less useful when compared to hangouts.)
So what about the ugly?
While I think Google+ is great there are some key areas where Google has been criticized:
Nym wars: There has been a significant backlash to Google+’s real name policy and the lack of support for pseudonyms. One of the major issues has been inconsistent enforcement of the policy.
Noise filtering: Many are complaining that there are not enough means for filtering/preventing noise. Some have even abandoned the system already because of the noise
Source: Comatosesoul
Posted in: G+,Google+,Social Networking
