I've been playing with Google+ the last couple days and so far it seems pretty cool. Certainly not as robust as Facebook, but its developers seem to have learned from the Wave and Buzz mishaps and created something much more user friendly. I'm also loving its clean design.
I've seen a lot of early adopter types either gush or laugh off this latest advance from Google into the "social space." It's too early for anyone to plausibly guish, we simply don't know how malleable Google+ will ultimately become. Will brands be able to able to integrate themselves in creative ways as Facebook currently allows them to? Or will Google+'s strength be in creating connections between people who actually interact on a regular basis instead of serving as a "friend collector?" Again, who knows?
To those dismissing Google+ already because they think people are too deeply ingrained in other social networks and won't want to be bothered building up their presence in yet another location I would ask that you just remember that at one point MySpace* (and even Friendster) once seemed unbeatable.
If you have Google+ already, what are your initial thoughts on it?
*Incidentally that profile picture above is one I snagged from one of those cheesy MySpace ads YEARS ago and have used as an inside joke / nod to that network by using itas my Google avatar. No word on whether I'll be changing it now that said avatar seems to be your default Google+ profile pic.
ok, I think Google ate my first comment so forgive me if this is a duplicate.
ReplyDeleteI had hopes that Google+ was going to be different from Facebook in terms of privacy. The option with Google+ appears to be public everything and it took me awhile to make sure everything was locked down securely like I like it.
Secondly, I downloaded the Google+ Android app and the default was to automatically upload the entire contents of my photo gallery to a "private" folder I've yet to locate.
I was hoping that Google+ was going to let us "opt in" to things instead of "opt out" but I found myself equally as frustrated with their privacy setup and hope that in the future they take a lesson from the frustrations that people have with Facebook.
I am deeply connected with Google products and I am concerned about how much everything is tied to me. I have a private life and an online life and I don't like the two mixed. Not that I'm leading a secret life, but I don't want unfortunate information exposed out there by someone other than me. And with Google+ obviously being tied to a search engine, I am curious how much more social media information will be available in searches.
I already keep my Facebook out of search engines. And I have my twitter locked down to prevent the same. But Google+ has the potential to be a little more dangerous so I'm curious to see how it plays out.