Social media has quickly become our generation’s specialty. It dominates our laptops, phones, and admit it, our lives. However, for a generation claiming to be so tech-savvy, many of us seem very hesitant when our precious social media sites change. Whether a new chat sidebar pops up or the “is” from status updates disappears; any time there’s a change in social media, everyone starts talking.
The launch of Google’s new social network, Google+, is no different. Some people love it, some people hate it, but the one thing everyone agrees on is that no one is quite sure exactly what the future of the site will be. How it will play into the social media scene?
“Google+ is like a lot of other products Google offers that are far superior to what’s on the market,” said Eric Osterman, senior digital strategist. “It’s just such a strong, respected brand and has such a different way to use tools.”
Google is a powerful company with a proven track record of producing products far superior to its competition’s. They understand the internet and how to use it and have been watching and learning from the competition for years, patiently waiting to launch their answer to Facebook.
But Google+ isn’t Google’s first attempt at a social media site. The messaging tool Buzz was a dud and their project management site Wave never really took off. Since neither of these ventures were particularly successful, Google took a step back and decided that if they were going to attack the social network scene, they needed to do it right. So they watched and waited, and five years after Facebook was launched, Google+ was born.
Invitation-only Google+ users have boasted about the chic design and simplicity of the new network. With only a few navigation buttons and a very clean layout, the site is actually very similar to a stripped down version of Facebook.
“It’s got a less childish feel to it,” said Google+ user, Nick Pritchett. “I like the simplicity. No junk, just pure networking.”
There are many tools of Google+ that set it apart from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Circles, Huddles, Hangouts, and +1s are a few that come to mind. Sound foreign to you? Here’s a quick Google+ cheat sheet:
Circles: “They’re essentially groups you can place your contacts in to organize them. The best analogy I’ve found is that they’re like labels in Gmail,” said Matt Emmons, of Adage Technologies. “Circles are a good way of dividing your contacts into manageable groups.”
Circles act, in a way, as a simpler version of Facebook’s privacy settings. They filter who gets what information you share.
“I can pick and chose who I want to share what with instead of other people picking and choosing how much of me they want to see,” said Pritchett.
Huddles: “The Huddle option is like advanced texting where you can have 4-5 people at a time,” said Osterman. “It basically turns text conversations into one group chat, like creating a chat room on AOL Instant Messenger on a mobile device.”
Huddles are only on the mobile version of Google+, which is so far just on the Android.
Hangouts: Similar to Huddles, Hangouts are group chats, but with video. They allow multiple people to all video chat simultaneously.
“Google Hangouts are simply awesome,” Emmons said.
+1s: “Imagine there was a Facebook “Like” button next to every result on a Google search page. Well, that’s essentially what the Google +1 button is,” Emmons said. You can also “+1” contacts’ profiles, posts, and comments, just like the Facebook “like” button.
Get it? Good.
As promising as Google+ sounds, it’s definitely far from perfect. A major problem they’re facing is trying to compete with Facebook. People understand Facebook. They’re comfortable on it. Their friends are there and so is their information.
“A major con of Google+ is that it is late in the game. People have years of their lives archived on Facebook, and admittedly, transforming your information, posts, photos, videos, Likes, etc. isn’t as simple as pressing a button,” Emmons said (though he pointed out that a Firefox or Chrome extension called Move Your Photos can make the photo transition much easier).
Google+ is also new technology with tools that might come off as more complicated and sophisticated than its competitors’. It’s important that Google+ guides users through their initial experiences early on so that they can fully grasp its potential.
“They need to make sure they send a clear message to potential users as to what this is,” Osterman said.
But for the younger tech crowd who already love Gmail, YouTube, Google search, and other Google products, they can’t help but love the new network.
“If you like Facebook and so do lots of your friends, then go a head and stick with it. Me and my friends will be over here enjoying a better platform,” said Pritchett.
The big question hanging over Google+ is will it ever be the dominating social network? The answer to this question lies in how people use it and largely where their friends are.
“I think that if Google+ is done right and if the right people adopt it and get comfortable with it, then it could get a pretty good chunk away from Twitter and Facebook, just because Google is such a strong and respected brand and it has such a different way to use tools,” said Osterman.
Plus, with social networks’ huge push towards going mobile, Google+ has the definite advantage. The Huddles and Hangouts features, combined with the sleek design of the mobile app, already outshine Facebook Mobile.
“The winner is going to be who can create the best mobile social experience, and Facebook’s mobile functionality at this point is not that good,” said Emmons.
At the end of the day, will one social network reign supreme? Yes, but Osterman suggests that the ultimate network is going to be one that combines all the sites that are currently out there. Although maybe not for several years, he sees social networks resolving to a site that combines elements of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. in a single place that doesn’t require people to update numerous sites.
Though competition amongst sites will continue, it’s looking like each site will thrive independently of each other—at least for now.
“I suspect a lot of people will run the two systems in parallel,” Emmons said.
Osterman agrees in a sense. “Initially, Google+ will be a complement to Facebook until people decide what they want it to be,” he said.