Google + is the new social network from the search giant. The website feels like a Facebook clone with the added benefit of grouping users together in what Google calls “Circles”. The US Company has been trying to get into the social market for several years with both Google Wave and Buzz failing miserably in the past. Many people have questioned if Google could take Facebook’s crown with Plus, we look further into this below;
At the moment the website is only accessible to users that have been invited directly from Google or from friends already on the program. In the coming weeks everybody will be able to create an account and at that point the site will float or sink. We have already been interacting on the new network and are learning what it has to offer.
The site gives users many of the same features as Facebook, from options to upload images and videos, to a way to chat with friends and share your thoughts. The main addition Google Plus brings to social is its “Circle” grouping element. The idea is that instead of posting a piece of information to all of your friends you can post to just your college friends or to your family. While this sounds like an interesting idea some early adopters have found grouping friends to be difficult and unnecessary.
The main problem we see with the site is its place in the market. We already have Facebook for sharing data with all of our friends, twitter is perfect for finding out small pieces of information and reading news, Youtube is the place to view videos etc. How will a Facebook clone help us? If for some reason you hated Facebook but liked the ideas behind it maybe you would change. Another possibility is that you’re the type of person that wants an account on everything and Google Plus is the next place to interact. If you’re a normal user it’s just another place to create a profile that you will have to keep checking and interacting on and it doesn’t give any considerable benefit.
Current Networks
Facebook and Twitter are still driving large amounts of users to client’s websites and we doubt this will change quickly. We think some companies will create a Google + account to go with their Twitter, Facebook and YouTube account but many will be doing it without a plan.
Overview
Google plus will gain lots of users over the next few weeks. As people try out the network the site will gradually find a user base of some form. The site may become a good place to market for technology based companies but at the moment we don’t see Google + being a good place to promote a high percentage of B2C or B2B products and services.
If you would like to run a campaign on an established network with millions of users please view our Social Media Marketing page for more information.
3 Responses
The big difference for me are these:
Connectivity with the mobile. Ten times better than FB
but basically, the circles. This feature avoids a lot of problems that FB has like knowing about people you have in your network but are colleagues, or “old” friends that you don’t really care about. Well, this is almost a “must”. Strange that FB did not have it before
I can’t see this network taking over. Most people are lazy when it comes to creating social profiles. Once I had completed my Facebook page I didn’t want to create another profile. I’m happy with what Facebook offers, this is just more of the same.
Google + has gained more users, but I expected more from Google and don’t think the network has picked up steam yet. However I don’t believe it will be able to challenge Facebook in the future.