To Facebook or to Google, this is now the question. Google, recently launched a beta version of Google+, or Google Plus, the company’s answer to Facebook. As with most new Google trends, the release of Google+ was limited to an exclusive amount of individuals who received invitations privately.
If you were lucky enough to have a friend who received an invitation, you may have been able to receive your own personal invite. If not, many people are left to wait in anticipation for the official launch of Google+.
Upon Google’s initial release of the Google+ social network, the system temporarily crashed due to an influx of user invitations. However, reports currently indicate that Google+ may reach up 10 million users or more by the end of the second week of July.
Many of the potential new users of Google’s social network may wonder about whether Google+ differs from Facebook. Preliminary design appears to show that Google+ has almost the same interface as Facebook with the exception of being created by Google with Google icons.
Like Facebook, users can post pictures of themselves, and of course, they can add friends with Google+ along with other personal information and photos. However, Google+ adds other distinctions that may make it a better alternative to Facebook.
For example, Google+ classifies friends as “Circles” sorted by Groups that users customize for themselves. Users can create multiple groups with multiple different types of access permissions to their Google+ accounts.
In addition, users can form their own online meetups or web meetups called “Hangouts,” where they may lurk and wait for others to sign on and start chats similar to virtual meetings. Google+ permits instant uploads of photos snapped on mobile phones and users can determine later who may view the photos.
Also, with the help of Buzzvoice you can now buy Instagram video views cheap that you can convert to your followers in Facebook specially if you have a business page. You no longer have to talk to eachand every individual that may be interested in your product or service. The world is changing and so are the digital tools that we are using.
Additionally, Google+ allows users to create “Huddles” for online text chats through their Android phones along with a “Sparks,” a tailored advertising feature that information based on user indicated interests. Potentially, Google+ offers a service that Facebook has not fully perfected, that being exclusion.
Such features are helpful given the increase in the risks of privacy invasions from potential employers, stalkers, and other anonymous individuals who can easily access a person’s Facebook account information through common acquaintances or simple mistakes in privacy settings.
While people love to share information about themselves online, most people would agree that they still do not want to their lives fully accessible to everyone. In fact, most people have resorted to name changes, Facebook profile removals, and lawsuits to advocate for stricter Facebook privacy polices.
Facebook has responded with four main privacy settings: Everyone, Friends of Friends, Friends Only, and Other. Despite the improvements, Facebook’s privacy settings continue to remain confusing to some users. Since Google+ is only in the testing phase, it is unclear whether or not it will create a more successful way for users to manage their privacy, while maintaining an online presence.
If anything, Google+ is bound to attract many users, simply because it’s Google! The name says it all.