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Google Plus

By Garth - on Thu Jul 7 2011 - 3 comments - share this article facebook twitter email +1

The big news in the tech world at the moment is the limited beta launch of Google+, their latest attempt at entering the social game and dethroning Facebook. Google has tried this many times in the past so it will be interesting to follow whether they can pull it off this time.

Google+ seeks to change the game by, amongst other things, putting the user in control of what they share and to whom. To that end you are able to group your friends into "circles" (co-workers, family, close friends, acquaintances etc) so that you can interact with them differently. This looks to be a smart move given the backlash there has been lately against Facebook's aggressive (un)privacy policies.

From a usability stand point Google+ is both innovative and intuitively functional. Their interface feels modern and slick and it's very easy to use. The real key to their interface's success is actually the new black bar the top of the page though. This bar is ubiquitous throughout Google products and it means that you can access Google+ wherever you are in Google's network. This exemplifies the fact that Google+ isn't so much a separate social networking site but rather it is an extension of Google itself; Google...plus. It's very early days yet but it does look like Google might have cracked it at this stage.

googe plus 1

Stay tuned for a follow up blog post in a few months after Google+ has matured a bit.

https://plus.google.com/

Useful links to learn more:

Tour and demo: http://www.google.com/+/demo/
Roundup of features: http://mashable.com/2011/06/28/google-plus/#18169Google-Icons
A big detailed look into it from TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/28/google-plus/
10 tips to get more out of Google+: http://www.examiner.com/canada-social-media-in-canada/10-tips-to-make-the-most-of-google-plus

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3 comments
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The real question though, is how this will benefit brands. I'm interested to see how they incorporate paid search into Google+ considering their point of difference to other social networking sites is security / privacy for users. How do brands effectively interact with users in the Google+ social space?
Ashleigh Adairreply

Garth replies Yes indeed, it remains to be seen how they intend to commercialise/monetise Google+ but it will presumeably be very targeted and subtle. I'm intrigued to see if they do something similar to Facebook brand pages or whether they just serve ads as per the status quo.

To me the biggest benfit (and a reason to potentially jump aboard is the grouping feature you mention - 'group your friends into "circles" (co-workers, family, close friends, acquaintances etc) so that you can interact with them differently.
barbreply

i would hope that they already have put in place ways to stop certain (ahem) seo people from gaming the system and filling it up with worthless nonsense.
craig mclaughlanreply

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