Facebook To Google+: Ten Reasons To Switch

As Google+ continues to grow, debate rages over whether or not Facebook users should ditch their favoured social network and try out the search giant’s option. There are some who say such a shift makes sense, since Facebook isn’t as adept at delivering a worthwhile social experience any longer. Others say that sticking with Facebook is the way to go, since it’s so big, and that’s where everybody’s friends hang out.

Admittedly, making that decision is personal. And a solid argument can be made for using both social networks simultaneously. But if folks decide to turn their backs on Facebook and only use Google+ as their go-to social network, it wouldn’t be a mistake. After all, there are a host of solid reasons people might decide to ditch Facebook in favour of Google+.

Read on to learn more about why some users are making the jump from Facebook to Google+, and why by doing so, they might find a better social network.

1. Facebook’s privacy troubles

Facebook is no stranger to privacy troubles. Last year, for example, the company came under fire for making too much user data readily available to the public. In response, Facebook unveiled new privacy features last year that simplified the process of keeping personal information away from parties users didn’t want to share it with. The only problem is the social network continues to come under fire from security experts, including Sophos, which said earlier this year that Facebook needs to do more to keep the privacy and security of data paramount in its plans. Although Google doesn’t have the best privacy record either, Facebook’s troubles might be enough to warrant a change to Google+.

2. It’s all about Circles

When Facebook users share content on their page, it’s very difficult to get only certain people to see it. In many cases, all of a person’s friends see content, regardless of whether they want them to or not. But with Google+’s Circles feature, that issue is eliminated. Circles lets users put other folks into certain “groups” and then determine what they want to share with each group. Circles are central to the appeal of Google+.

3. Data Liberation is arguably the best feature

The best feature on Google+ is the service’s Data Liberation. When employing that feature, users can download all their Google content, including photos, profile information and contacts, to their computers. In other words, a user who shares information in Google+ actually owns that content. On Facebook, that just isn’t the case. If ownership matters to users, Google+ is their best bet.

4. Facebook video chat is lame in comparison

Facebook recently announced Skype integration, allowing users to engage in a video chat with a friend. It’s a nice addition. The only problem is, when it comes to video chatting, Google+ reigns supreme, thanks to its Hangouts feature. Hangouts allow users to have a video chat with up to 10 people at the same time at no charge. Plus, friends who happen to see others in a video chat can drop in and join the conversation. Facebook can’t compete on any level with that functionality.

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