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Everything you wanted to know about Google plus but couldn’t find in the flood of Google Plus related articles!

The launch of Google plus was perhaps one of the biggest social technology news scoops of this quarter. Over a period of last few week the social web has flooded with Google plus articles; some call it the Facebook killer, others think it will die like other Google’s social projects, while still others think it is something different than just a social network, it is a social layer etc.

So we at Kuliza thought why not do an extensive review of some of the best news and opinions on this Google project and help you understand what’s in it for you. A slight disclaimer here is that with the social networks waging in war with each other, both Facebook and Google are rapidly changing their face every day. So our research knowledge is limited to the time of writing this article that is September 23.

What is Google Plus?

So what is Google Plus? To answer this question, let us first see what Google plus calls itself. If you go to the Google plus promo page, here is what it say is it:

“Real life sharing, rethought for the web”

The message sort of fails to explain me why do I need this, when I already have Facebook and Twitter for sharing and this sharing for me it is pretty much real life! If I compare this message to what Facebook calls itself ( log out and go to Facebook.com and you will see – Facebook is a place to connect and share with people in your life) or what Twitter calls itself ( Follow your interests), then Google Plus’ reason is not very clear to me.  So let’s explore more and see what experts think of Google Plus.

The Business insider considers Google Plus as an amalgamation of Google services that we already have been using with an idea of doing them better. David Armano considers Google Plus as not a social network but a social layer above the Google/ Web ecosystem, which is a better way of explaining Business Insider’s opinion. According to him Google Plus is not a Facebook killer and it does not need to be!

Still unclear? Let’s see what Google Plus can do and try to understand Google Plus better.

What are Google Plus’ key features?

Google Plus has been promoting a lot is its new features and they have been a big driving force for people to try it. Here is a brief description of some of the key features of Google Plus:

Circles: Circles is one of the main features of Google plus and a key differentiator from Facebook. The idea behind the circles (if you already don’t know) is that we share different stuff with different people in our life and some people care more about a certain kind of stuff than others. So instead of sharing everything with everyone when it comes to a social network, why not share it only with a certain set that will actually care about the stuff you share! Hence, in Google Plus you can divide your network into various circles so that you always share the most relevant things with the most relevant people.

Hangouts: This is another key feature of Google Plus and according to some experts the one Google Plus feature that can make a difference. Hangout is a group video chat feature with your specific friends or entire circle. The most interesting thing about hangouts is the range of creative ideas people are using to leverage this new feature. People are having cooking classes to musical concerts to game shows over Google hangouts. Moreover, according to recent updates, people can now broadcast a hangout. So for e.g. now you can have a group concert with your other musician friends over a hangout and broadcast it to the rest of the world. Even more, the hangouts now have collaboration features so that you can share your screen, Google docs and sketch pad.

Sparks: This is another cool Google plus feature which is essentially a recommendation engine to help you see what is exciting on the topics of your choice. I think in the longer term this recommendation engine has a big potential for brand that want to push engaging content to Google Plus readers. See more

Search: Google Plus search is perhaps the evolved version or the next generation of search where you don’t find answers on the entire web but in your friend’s networks. This social version of search is more trustable (since you can see from whom it is coming from) and more personal (you see what your friends or network is saying).

 

How is Google Plus different from Facebook?

I beg to differ with the idea of Facebook just being a social network and Google Plus being an amalgamation or a social layer over web. I think both the social giants are trying to be that social layer over the web. Even Facebook with its APIs, plug-ins and open graph has been attempting to create this social layer for websites and web pages. So fundamentally you will find 4 essential differences between Google Plus and Facebook:

• Integration of search and social: With Google Plus, the search giant is leveraging its search muscle to create a social layer over its SEO. So whatever your Google and Google Plus network ‘+1s’ is what would be more visible to you in your searches. Hence Google Plus has a potential to become a smarter search engine that you always needed, something that Facebook will never be.
• Privacy: Here is again where Google plus wins the war especially when Facebook has always invited growls and grumbles over privacy. The concept of circles ensures you share things with only those whom you actually want to share.
• Relationships and sharing: Facebook is a 2 way content sharing economy ( before it came out with the concept of subscriptions ), i.e. you friend with somebody and then both can see each other’s content, Twitter is a one way content sharing economy, i.e. people follow me and I might not even know them. Google plus here comes with a difference. If I add somebody in my circle, I share my content with him /her. If you are wondering how that happens, probably this table will help you: