I can’t compare them. But I kind of need to get it off my chest and compare them anyway.
Let me start of by saying that Google+ looks great and it’s super easy to share content with different audiences. It’s clean, pretty simple to navigate and it’s Google so pretty much all your information is there. Right?
Wait, no. It’s not. That’s my biggest problem with Google+ right now. Hardly any of my actual friends are there and the services that integrate with it are only Google related ones.
When I look for a new social network I’m hoping it will solve a need that I don’t know that I have or it specializes in a niche area that major social networks (such as Facebook and Google just shouldn’t focus on). I want all of my online stuff to integrate. Case-in-point.
A lot of the friends that I do have in there love the Idea of the “circles” that Google+ has only I wonder how many of them stay around after setting them up. It does help with “clutter” I suppose. I don’t think Facebook is as crowded as everyone makes it out to be though. It’s your decision to be friends with people and it’s your decision to accept / deny all of those pesky app invites. They have the same grouping functionality as Google+ only it’s harder to find it.
I know that Google+ has just been released and it’s pretty early to call sides for or against it so I want to make it clear that’s not what I’m doing. I may be though, you can be the judge.
What I find funny about Facebook’s announcement today about their video chat capability is their partnership with Skype. To me, it’s like, “Hey Google- you can try and do video chat, that’s fine – our video chat is powered by the number one video chat component in the world.” Now, Google+ does have the “hangout” capability that allows group video messaging and when the CEO of Skype was questioned about that functionality in Facebook he basically said “Nobody chats that way.” SO Google may be serving a need that isn’t there (most likely) or trying to create a need that people didn’t know they have.
Now back to me. I can’t even fathom using group video chat in Google+ because nobody I would really want to chat with is on there nor will they probably be anytime soon.
This makes me think back to the ICQ / AIM days. It seemed then that the region you live in decided which service you would use. I think this is sort of the same situation (granted Google+ isn’t a flop (oh how I miss Google Wave and Google Buzz still sucks)) only now it’s based more on your location and interest online. So it’s moved from your geographical presence to where you’re at digitally.
It’s the way of the world. I still love both these companies but I’m really banking on Facebook for long-term communication platforms. They integrate well in to mobile and given our digital age I think that’s one of the most important factors. As soon as they release the @Facebook.com email address to the general public I think it will completely change the way that people look at email. If email doesn’t die soon, it will be drastically changing. It’s as if Facebook took the social platform and email and are backing their way in to a really sophisticated communication method that involves crazy apps and interaction right in your mail box.
Lets see where this goes, for now I’m staying on the Face train.
I am really liking the Google+ interface. I was a heavy Google application adopter, picassa, account, contacts, mail, reader, buzz, wave, blogger. This interface is allowing me to use all of those features without leaving each application. There is a significant reduction of clutter and the streamlining of the “groups” to manage your outgoing messages is really going to allow more actual sharing on the service.
Yea, I don’t know much use Buzz is and Wave is dead. I never caught on with blogger, I always thought it was just another “adequate” service so Google could say, “Hey, we do blogging too!” Actually that’s how buzz went down too. “We can do microblogging!” I do like how all of this is a step to de-clutter a lot of the messaging platforms out there but they’re just not working for the general public. I’m still trying to make use of Google Docs. I usually just use it to house files. I know a lot of people use it to share scripts & such but Celtx has a service specifically designed for the sharing and tracking of changes on scripts, in it’s proper format. That’s a win-win and very niche. One example of what I’m saying about not needing another basic platform.