Google+ opens to all
In its early days, Google+ was criticised for its predominantly male user base.
The service's use of 'circles' enables users to easily group contacts and share content with them accordingly, making the concept more accessible than Facebook's Friends List system.
With Google+ now open to all, we can finally see whether users will make the switch from existing and established social networks. Interestingly, at the beginning of the private beta stage, Google's social networking platform also had a notably male-dominated user base, and even now male users make up over 65 per cent of the Google+ demographic.
Along with the public beta, Google also announced the addition of Google+'s Hangouts video chat to Android 2.3, as well as an integrated search function for content posted by your contacts, to make finding that funny cat video easier.
Hangouts have also received the ability to share documents and a sketchpad, highlighting Google+'s workplace potential, as well as its prospective function as a place to post photos of yourself when drunk.
Have you joined Google+? Do you use Hangouts? Or do you feel that another social network, in addition to Facebook and Twitter, is a needless addition to the market? Either way, let us know in the forums.
Previous Article
38 Comments
Discuss in the forums Replycompetition and something different is always a good thing it forces change by the leader
"I'd never join any club that would have me as a member."
"Google+ is not yet available for Google Apps"
Not that I ever use it, just uploaded my sonisphere pictures. Which is depressing as I am nearly tempted to join facebook just to get everyone else's pictures from sonisphere. All 89 billion of them :(
G+ is awesome.
So, you didn't create an account with Bit Tech to make that post then? Who do you think pays for this website?
Same. If only I could convince all my friends.
That's going to lead to some horiffically embarrassing moments.
They upload privately, lol. My HTC Sensation and Google+ is an awesome combination.
Facebook has already sold People's information.
You're looking at it the wrong way. Facebook should be giving you the opportunity to EXPORT everything you're tagged in, which they don't...you can only export what you added yourself.
Neither Google nor anyone else is going to be able to pull off any miracles that the Facebook API doesn't allow - and Facebook are hardly going to do that since it will only fuel further migration away from their social platform.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't want better...and Google+ *IS* better.
Well, maybe export is too strong a word, but I can download any and all pictures I am tagged in. That's something I guess.
TBH, I don't ever expect G+ to be able to do what I think they need. It was just some wishful thinking. FB would do everything in their power to stop that kind of thing, since there is only one reason you would ever need to do it really, and they can't be making that any easier.
Having said that, just a couple of hours ago my brother posted on his fb asking for people on G+ to add him. I didn't realise he had it, so have now actually added a couple of people I have found that have an account, and have had a good look around and added some personal info etc.
And hell; this is a hell of a lot better than facebook. Now I just need my friends on it! Sigh.
One social-malarkey-site is enough and FB got there first. That's all there is for me.
do you have a Facebook account?
I'd say their customer roll is far worst...
not to say that they also include advertisers :P
I much prefer G+ to bookface and have done since I got an invite several months ago. However hardly anybody uses it; many of my good friends do have G+ accounts, but they hardly use it because many of their friends aren't on it.
All I really need from a "social network" is the ability to send links and see status updates/short posts - Twitter fits that need nicely. I hardly ever use things like messaging or events on FB - I'd much rather send someone a text message than an FB message, and if I'm organising something I invite people the old fashioned way - I call them. I'm not really one for publishing loads of photos all the time, but when I do I prefer to upload to my own webservers/galleries and send out links (despite all the content I have on FB).
If more of my friends list migrates from FB to G+, I'll probably start using it more.
Like anything else it's only confusing if you approach it with the mindset that it needs to be exactly the same as Facebook and work in exactly the same way.
Google+ shares similarities, but it's different....that's WHY it's so much better.
The one that gets people all the time is "how do i post on someone's wall?". Answer: you don't. You just make a post and choose who sees it from your circles and to draw that particular person's attention TO the post you "plus" them (like +Roger Rabbit ).
I agree, if you are looking for a copycat of facebook, you are going to be disappointed. But I find Google idea way more innovative.
Don't they need money to support some of the free things they are giving out there... gmail, google calendar, google map, google docs, just to name a few...
Anyone else think the open beta is related to the interface change on FB?
Anyway.
Is G+ going to crush Facebook this year? No. Next? No. But long term, FB has every reason to fear Google, they are serious about G+ and G+ already has a very dedicated base of users. And Google already has an enourmous base of Google users and android owners, and G+ is a natural fit for all users of Google services.
I myself, on the day of G+ launch, told everyone on FB, I was dropping that crap like a bad habit and deleting my FB as soon as G+ went open. Well, nearly all my friends are now on G+, mostly only my family is stuck on FB. Upon this announcement that G+ is finally open, I told everyone I am deleting my FB profile. I'm thinking I may delete it on Nov 5 :D
The only people I know left on FB are uninteresting and quite frankly, FB can have them. I find the quality of people on G+, for now anyway, is much higher. I spend twice the time on G+ that I ever did on FB because the discussions on G+ are all so engaging.
Quite frankly, I don't care if G+ overtakes FB or not. In truth, I would prefer the smart people stay on G+ and the rest stay on FB.
I did my own layout to FB because I wanted to mach it to my FF theme :D
The last pic:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.115663641835292.15049.100001749702754&l=7b72508e88&type=1
Ditto.