Facebook better watch out because it’s just the beginning of the Google+ Social Network. Still in its trial period, the main aim is to enable sharing and interaction between friends and groups of friends through personal connections.
But what does Google have that Facebook doesn’t? They are the largest search engine on the planet and they are focusing on features that Facebook lacks. There are four main elements:
- Circles
- Hangouts
- Sparks
- Huddle
- Instant Upload
Circles
Like everyday life, you have certain people you hang out with to do different things. This function allows you to create circles of friends into groups e.g. close friends, uni friends, hockey team. So if you want to post content up such as a news article, or blog. Rather than have it appear to all your friends, you are able to select which circles will see it. This makes it more relevant and qualified to their interests.
Hangouts
This allows face-to-face video chat with specific buddies or entire circle of friends. A fun and interactive video chat room; this could also possibly be a useful tool for business teleconferencing with multiple people.
Sparks
This is where you can list anything you are interested in e.g. music, fashion, gardening, food. This will then allow Google to send you search results based on your interests, so there will be always be something cool to watch, read or share. In turn, this incentivises you to choose this fun content to share with your circle of friends, and resulting in the reach of websites.
Huddle and Instant Upload
This enables group chatting on mobiles between you and your Google+ friends. Instant Upload allows photos and videos to automatically upload to a private album on Google+ which is a handy feature. This is still in its testing stage, so stay tuned for more updates here!
