Got my invite to Google+, finally. Thanks Izzy and Kandace for the near simultaneous invites.
I'm not a guy who minds multiple social networks. In the past six months I've started a podcast, two twitter accounts, three new emails (in addition to my 3 old ones), this blog, and, now, Google+. I can handle the social scene okay.
I'm no pro. That's for sure. But I do alright with the managing part. So Google+ wasn't that big of stretch for me.
Google+
Like any new site, especially one still in Beta, it doesn't know what it is yet. Not to seem ironic, but in The Social Network Jesse Eisenberg says, "We don't know what TheFacebook is yet, we just know that it's cool."
Google+ is cool. It's got some serious possibility too. When you bring the power of Google to a social network you I expect big things. The Sparks section could really take off. Right now on almost every page I visit there is a little +1 Google symbol. Now that symbol means something. Every time I read or watch something on the internet I click that and bam, Sparks adapts and changes to fit my needs. It still needs work, but the idea is good.
Here's the real kicker. And this is specific to me. I don't want a replacement for facebook. I want a replacement for Twitter. Twitter is great because it allows me to connect with everyone from Kevin Smith to James (TalkBack guest host from Australia). Without Twitter neither of those things is possible. But Twitter is a mess. The message board is beyond pointless if you have more than 10 friends, which if you're like me and trying to spread the word, you do.
That's where circles can come in. I can categorize my celebrities in one circle. My friends in another, my strangers in another. And still get all the functionality I need. Wow, great concept.
What Google+ lacks right now, at least for my needs, is the public connection that Twitter has. I consider this the hashtag. Greatest invention on Twitter ever. Say I want to mention LOST in a status update. And I want my update to be seen by people who like LOST. #LOST. Done.
Google+ has no way to connect with anyone that you don't specifically know. Not even something like Facebook groups. I don't personally like Facebook groups, but I love Twitter hashtag. If Google+ can incorporate that somehow, and really expand the user base. I'll be sold on it as my new public profile.
What I want Facebook to become is the super exclusive site. I want only my closest friends on that. The ones that I'm actually interested in talking to. Maybe 50-100 tops.
All my high school, college, work, life people- go to Google+. That's where I could, theoretically, interact with people I'm interested in following but not interested in staying up to date with.
"Hey, Tommy is visiting Canada. That's way cool. But I still ain't talking to Tommy anytime soon."
On Facebook these are my "Like-only" friends. I don’t' comment, chat, or wall post with any of them; but I will "Like" if they have a witty status update or cool photo.
Again this is all very specific to me. I know other people are looking for something to completely replace facebook, or don't care at all about Google+. What I want is for there to exist two profiles; my private (facebook) and public (Google+).
If there's anyone out there who agrees and has some power over the direction of Google+...make that happen. Pleaseandthankyou.