Google Plus, The New Kid on the Social Media Block
Google recently introduced its social networking service called, aptly, Google Plus (Google+). The service combines Google’s Profiles and Buzz features while adding new ones such as “Circles,” “Hangouts,” and many others. It was initially opened to selected known people in the tech field but the ability to send out a few invites, perhaps as a social media marketing service strategy, made the demand for getting in Google+ high. It is now speculated that Google+ will soon have 10 million users, making it the strongest contender to Facebook yet and certain to change the social media and website marketing landscape forever!
One of the more interesting feature of Google+ is its “Circles.” While Facebook does give its users control over their status messages and overall content, Google+ makes it a while lot easier with “Circles.” There are no confirmations of friend requests on Google+. Its users can easily organize what content is shared with whom by placing people they know into categories (i.e. “Circles). They are then given control of what is shared within a certain “Circle.” This includes posts made in the “Stream,” which is Google+’s version of Facebook’s Wall. This seems to indicate Google is offering more control over what is shared in general on Google+. This could very well be a very attractive selling point to Facebook users who find that the latter has become too intrusive with its use of the information made available by its users. Of course, Google will, to some extent, make use of the data in Google+ but most users already have accounts with Google that make their data available to it already. One marked difference here is the image Google has of securing its users data. Their company motto, “Do no evil,” certainly helps reinforce this sense of security.
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