For those who may have been on an unplugged vacation this summer or recently moved out from under a rock, say hello to Google+.
Google+ is Google’s recently rolled-out social networking platform. Though technically in a “Limited Field Trial” phase, anyone can be invited by any friend or coworker who already has an active profile. Once invited, the user is prompted to create their Google+ profile and then able to begin networking.
Some of you are likely thinking, ‘Why do we need another social network?’ Believe me, you’re not alone in that thinking. I mean, we already have Facebook, Twitter and various other niche networking platforms. Google, however, is on a mission to both “fix” the problems and bridge the gaps they currently see with existing social networking sites. Accordingly, the primary focus of Google+ is to encompass every existing Google product and make it socially compatible.
As stated in a recent post on Google’s official blog: "Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools. In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it."
So what is so different about Google+?
Once you create a Google+ profile, you have access to a number of unique social capabilities, including Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, Huddle and the most recently addition, Games
- Circles is a pod-based feature that allows you to customize your connections. With circles, you can organize your connections into groups based around the context of your relationships. For example, you may choose to create a circle for Family, Work, Friends, etc. By utilizing this feature, you are able to confine incoming and outgoing posts to the members of a given circle.
- Hangouts is a feature that – you guessed it – lets you virtually “hang out” with members of your circles, friends or anyone else you want to invite. Integrated with your built-in or external webcam, hangouts are Google+’s live video chat feature. Both personally and professionally, a hangout is the perfect way to catch up and collaborate.
- Sparks is a feature that allows you to search for and select (or “pin”) your topical interests for quick access to top relevant news. For instance, if you add “social media news” as an interest under Sparks, you can easily stay up-to-date on the topic, as you’ll be provided with a custom news feed where you can quickly watch, read and share relevant and recent news items.
- Huddle is a mobile-integrated feature of Google+ that offers group texting capabilities. You can converse with your friends via text message in a group chat setting. Every time you receive a new message in Huddle, Google+ sends a push notification to your phone to keep the conversation going.
- Games is the most recent feature addition to Google+. Currently offering access to 16 different games, including Angry Birds, Google+ users can play to their heart’s content.
Why should I use Google+?
- Thanks to a multitude of features, Google+ makes communication within groups a cinch.
- Creating Circles eliminates the “noise” of posts you don’t care about.
- Photo uploading is simplified, as compared to other social networks.
- Google+ is easily accessible, even on your smartphone.
- It was recently announced that Business Pages for brands will be rolling out soon. (And it’s never too early to begin thinking about a Google+ marketing strategy.)
- Posts in Google+ (if public) now appear in Google Social Search results.
Are you currently using Google+? If so, how have you been using it to communicate? What is your opinion of this new social network?