One of the best things about Google+ is that the search giant isn’t simply making it a walled garden away from its other products. Google+ allows users to see what sites they’ve given a “+1” rating on, and thanks to a navigation pane at the top, users can quickly jump to Gmail, Google News and other services. Google+ is designed to be more than just a social network. And that’s refreshing.
Google was smart with Google+. Rather than try to get users to share as much content as possible, the search giant has delivered a host of privacy features to allow users to share only what they’re comfortable with. With the platform’s privacy tool, users can assign their “network visibility,” to determine with whom to share posts and more. Privacy is vastly important when it comes to social networks, and Google seems to understand that.
A solid argument can be made that Facebook’s 750 million active users should be enough to persuade people to stay put. After all, the majority of an average person’s friends are likely using Facebook and not Google+. However, there is something to be said for Google+’s current user community. For the most part, its users are active, engaged and doing their part to make the environment as rich as possible. On Facebook, that isn’t always the case. For now, Google+ user base is one worth joining.
Google+ comes with a nice feature, called Sparks. With it, users can input a topic that they’re interested in and find information related to that. So, if they like movies, they can get film-related news. Those who are into comics can learn more about that. Sparks makes Google+ a full-fledged news feed, thus keeping users in place and making them want to come back for more.
If nothing else gets a user to switch, perhaps they should think about the competitive landscape in the social space. Right now, Facebook is dominating all other social networks, and the closest alternative, Twitter, is more like a complement than a competitor. But Google+ is a direct competitor with the ability to scare Facebook. And as consumers have seen time and again, a little fear in the marketplace is a good thing for long-term innovation. Simply put, if Google+ and Facebook battle it out, the users will benefit no matter who is winning.
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I agree the ability to categorise people into circles is the greatest advantage that Google + will offer. In a similar way to twitter lists, it enables you to pick and choose content they wish to see from people they wish to see it from, rather than users having to go round each profile to cull what they don’t wish to see. With circles you can simply toggle one group on or off so if users are looking for particular content or possible candidates, they can with the greatest of ease.
Katie Leaver, London Loves Jobs