Google+ Thoughts (very early thoughts)

So after being a few days behind on actually being able to get on Google+ I have some very early and initial thoughts on the most talked about new thing to hit the social media realm.

As far as I can tell Google+ has taken the very best of Facebook and Twitter put them together and added a few extras.

Like Twitter you do not need to “friend” a person. Users can add people to “Circles” even if he/she does not add you the user can still follow their public shares. To put it plainly, a “public share” on Google+ would be like a Twitter post, a share to a “Circle” would be more like a Facebook post as you have chosen whom to share with, i.e. which “Circle”.

Different from Facebook, Google+ seems to be more focused on who you share with. When you put something in the “Share what’s new” box Google+ asks you what “Circle” you want to share with.

Usability seems pretty intuitive. You can tag people similar to Facebook by just pushing the + button before a name. But right now access to Google+ is quite limited. Would-be users are having a hard time getting on Google+ and if Google doesn’t fix the invite problem soon it will become frustrating and interest may be lost. Early reports have said there are already 4.5 million people on Google+ so far that is a long way to go to match Facebook’s almost 7 billion.

Here’s the Google+ lingo you need to know:

Circles are like groups of friends. When you add someone to your Google+ network you put them in a “Circle”. This is an easy way to organize your friends. Groups or “Circles” can be formed by dragging the contact’s picture/photo over a “Circle”. You can even drag a group of people to a circle at one time.

Huddle seems similar to Facebook groups except it is mobile-friendly. Use a “Huddle” to have a group conversation or coordinate plans with many people at one time. Huddle allows many people to be part of the same conversation.

Stream is your NewsFeed. It can be organized by “Circles”.

+1 now makes sense. You can see what Google+ users have +1’d. This helps to serve as recommendations of what that user finds helpful, interesting or great online.

Sparks is the one thing that really separates Google+ from the pack. Sparks gives you want you want. It can pull in content from the Internet relating to your specific interests.

Hangouts is a video chat allows up to 10 users to see and talk to one another at the same time. This could be a huge for businesses and my be the future webinar.

So here are some initial thoughts. Google+ has a major advantage over Facebook with integration. So many people are already using existing Google online services and integrating these services into Google + will be a one stop shopping. Allowing users to monitor all Google+ searches, documents, events, emails etc. from one place may just be the hook Google+ needs.

If Google+ integrates its number one weapon, Google search into a Google+ live feed into Google Search, businesses will have an incentive to use Google+ Profiles. Google business profiles are in beta testing now and not available to the public but the opportunity to appear organically on a potential customer/client search query something at this point I can’t see Facebook matching this.

The jury is still out however as Facebook has such a hold on the social media market. We will just have to wait and see.

Still need a Google+ invite, let me know. Love to hear your thoughts on Google+.