By: Martin Rand, III
Date: August 1, 2011
It has been a month since the Google+ debut. Judging by the first month, it would seem like everything is going well for the new social network. It's already reached 20 million (the fastest social network to do this) and it's received generally positive reviews from tech-heads in the industry.
Google+ seems to have all the makings to be the best social network on the web. Much like recent newcomer Twitter, it has features that are completely different from other networks which will distinguish it from the rest. However, are these features good enough for Google+ to dethrone the current king of social networks: Facebook?
Features
Well, Google+ has exclusive features like having the ability to separate your friends, family and acquaintances in their own circles. This allows people to share certain information with certain circles. This is a great feature considering so many people have been fired from their job because of statuses they posted on Facebook. It also has this feature called Huddle, which is basically instant messaging with a lot of people. This is available on the mobile app. Then there's the hangout option. This feature allows video calling between users and their circles. Facebook has recently added a video calling feature in response to Google+.
Verdict
Are these features going to take down the reigning Facebook? The answer is an undoubtedly no.
The reasons are simple too. For one, the circles feature sounds good in theory; but why would anyone want to actually use it? This is a virtual world yet Google wants you to make real-world decisions about your relationship with people. Also, whats the point of having an acquaintance in virtual space? Honestly, how often will anyone talk to their acquaintances online because in real-life the only time people talk to their acquaintances is in passing-by or by accident.
Secondly, there won't be much networking going on because, in real-life, the average person only has 3-5 real friends, not including family. All Google+ will promote is conversation between people who already communicate with each other on a daily basis. With Facebook, everyone can be a friend and all the information is shared. All people need to do is learn not put extremely personal information or feelings online if they have something to lose.
Google loves to be number one. It took on Yahoo for the top search engine (Won), Microsoft for the top web browser (Won), Apple for the top OS on mobile devices(debatable) and now they are taking on Facebook for the top social network. Google+ seems like a nice idea, but don't expect people to be saying, "Aight, Google+ me later" any time soon.
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