How have you been spending your evenings lately? Staying connected with your friends through Facebook I supposed? Well I am not surprised; after all over 40% of the U.S population had a Facebook account. This in fact accounts for over 25% of Facebook’s 600 million active users.
Being the top player in the social network service, most will think Facebook is too big to be toppled from their current position. After all, their next nearest competitor is but a fraction of their size. Think again. Another giant of the cyberspace has decided to grab a share of the social network service, just as it has done with other sectors.
Think Google+. While still in its infancy, it has been recently released to a small tester group but it won’t be long before Google+ is ready for everyone. First things first, Google+ being in its infancy has lots of improvements to work on. Many of the things mentioned here are parts of future releases or bugs that Google is working on. And here are the pro and cons of Google’s new social network.
Pro: Gorgeous UI
Ever used a overly complicated user interface and gave up on the application? Fear not for majority of Google+ users applauded the sleekness of its user interface. A clean, easy to use and uncluttered interface is a plus for most users. What less can you be expecting since Andy Hertzfeld, one of the original designers of the Apple Macintosh GUI is responsible for this piece of art. It does not hurt that Google has given him free reign on the designs.
Not only is Google+ UI better than most Google products, in terms of cleanliness and ease of use, it brings along a special character and flavor to things. Leaving things in Hertzfeld’s hands is certainly a good choice.
Pro: Circles Is Slick
If you found it difficult to restrict your comments to selected list of people, be it your friends or business colleagues, Google+ is making it easier. Circles, Google+’s friend list feature was specifically introduced to overcome this. Users have found its ease of use the leader on the market when it comes to sorting friends into groups, and sharing posts with specific groups of people.
Well Google+ Circles is not only well designed but far superior to what we find in Facebook friend lists or Twitter Lists. But then again, if organization has never been your cup of tea, this is a redundant and tedious task no matter how you see it.
Pro: Google+ Hangouts
Wanting to catch your friends live through video chats but found that you will need a “PhD” to get connected? Now this is certainly a winner from where we are standing now. Hangouts which allows up to 10 users to simultaneously video conference with each other is a major blockbuster with the early Google+ users.
Instead of having to create group chat system where you get your friends to join the chat, users simply create “hangouts” that pop up on their feeds. All other users can then take part in these hangouts. While this seems to be a minor change, it has certainly made video chats far more accessible.
There is definitely room for improvement, but Hangouts as it is now, is Google+’s killer feature. No doubt about it.
Con: Doesn’t Work With Google Apps
Talking about Google+’s ease of use but found that you are unable to connect via your Google Apps accounts? This is certainly the biggest piece of negative feedback so far. And it makes logical sense, for people are naturally attached to their email addresses which link to Google Apps accounts. Who wants to struggle with multiple email addresses if everything can be done with one?
Con: Lack of Search
What is Google known for? Isn’t Google Search their best known product? After all it is their search capability which made them the giant they are today.
Are you kidding me that Google+ lacks a search feature? How do you find the content your friends are sharing? Hopefully this search feature is already in Google’s to-do-list.
Con: Noise in the Stream
While Google+ has been designed to minimize noises in the stream via the use of circles, it is no doubt still too noisy for majority of the users. The key issue observed is the pushing of posts whenever there’s a new comment, not necessary in most users’ opinion.
Not to mention other issues like collapsing posts with long comment threads. And perhaps a means to read “top stories” like those in Facebook will be good to have.
Pro or Con (You Have To Decide): Google+ Is Everywhere
According to Vic Gundotra, Google SVP of Social, the company named its social platform Google+ as it’s designed to be an extension of Google. Hoping the Google+ users will simply relate it as Google and not another company. With this in mind, Google+ will be on every Google product like Gmail and Google Docs.
Some have found this move to greatly increase accessibility; others have expressed their reservations, especially when it comes to privacy. Not everyone is willing to share their email and other personal data openly.
Now this is a strongly debatable point, it will likely create a divide of opinions between the “always connected” and “strongly private” individuals.
It is natural for Google to integrate Google+ into every sector of their kingdom, creating a seamless integration that promotes their social network. But they will need to work hard at protecting personal information, a key area that even Facebook has yet to solve.
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