Thoughts On Google+ and Why it Works

Google+, which what many call as Google’s answer to Facebook, was launched as an invite-only service a few days ago. Soon after launch feedback from the early testers started coming in and it was largely positive. The news spread like wildfire and people flocked to get invites and use the tool. In fact, at one point there were so many people using this service that Google decide to disable the invites for everyone. It was a field trial and the number of people who signed up surpassed all expectations. Google has since then re-enabled the invite system, but for some it remains disabled.

I was fortunate to get an early invite to the service and hence decided to check what the fuss was all about. This post highlights my feedback of the tool and why I think it works well.

Circles Make Grouping Easy

Circles are groups of friends you can create on Google+. Not a new concept. But the execution is amazing. The way you can effortlessly drag and drop people onto circles, and the way you can select multiple people and drag them at once is just awesome.

Also, the Circles are clearly visible on the sidebar of your Google+ homepage so quickly checking out a specific stream of updates is easy.

Sharing That Works

An interesting thing about Google+ is the integration of it in the Google navbar that appears on top of all Google products like Gmail, Google Reader etc. You can quickly share anything from there, which is cool.

Then there’s the limited sharing thing which isn’t implemented well in Facebook or any other social network. You can limit your status update to a specific circle or circles by typing the circle name by selecting it from the drop-down list.

Sparks Has Potential

The Sparks feature, that is meant to show you a stream of content from across the web on a topic of your choice, didn’t work that well when I tried it a few times. The content that it threw wasn’t great. But I think this feature has potential and will keep users on Google+ for a longer time. I am hoping the Google+ team improves it though.

The Google Advantage

Finally, since it’s a Google product, the way it integrates with other services (like Picasa for photos) is smooth and you don’t need to worry about third-party privacy hassles. Plus you can also export your data which is something you can’t do easily on other networks.

Overall, I have found it good so far. Not sure if it is path-breaking but it works. I am yet to try the Android app which I’ve heard is good too, and the Hangout (group video chat) feature so I might just love the service more later.

Have you tried Google+? What do you think of it? Tell us in the comments.