Google's highly anticipated social platform, Google+, was unveiled this week, and invitations to use the service have started finding their way around the world - even SA.
While the service is still in its limited field-testing stage, Google+ is already being praised as a social network to rival the social network, Facebook.
In a statement on the Google blog early this week, the search giant said: “Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools.
”In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it.”
Embedding the service in all of its existing applications and services, Google is essentially converting all aspects of the search engine into a giant social network.
Google+ in its current form includes what it calls the “Stream” - largely a replication of the Facebook newsfeed, showing all updates from a user's connections in a single timeline.
A navigation bar also serves to provide easy access to the different Google applications and new social notifications (again, similar to Facebook).
Other social components include Circles, Hangouts and Sparks, which are all intended to organise people within social circles, facilitate organising events, and allow users to share specific information with specific groups from different social circles.
In an obvious dig at Facebook, Google says: “Not all relationships are created equal. So in life we share one thing with college buddies, another with parents, and almost nothing with our boss.
“The problem is that today's online services turn friendship into fast food - wrapping everyone in 'friend' paper - and sharing really suffers.”
Sparks offer live feeds of content from across the Internet. Users can add their interests and Google+ populates the feed with relevant content.
Hangouts then also allow for the innovative feature of multi-person video chatting, and according to Google, aims to bring the casual nuance of “hanging out” to the online space.
Social layer
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says Google+ looks “slick and clever” but also adds a layer of complexity to the activities in which Google hopes to get the strongest buy-in, specifically Gmail.
“Buzz was a big flop because it tried to pull together too many diverse social networking activities, when people didn't particularly want that kind of service,” says Goldstuck.
“Its biggest issue was the extent to which it created information overload within Gmail. Google+ may well do the same.
“On the other hand, it is more seamless and well-integrated into the overall Google experience, so may well sneak up on users. Chances are they will start using it almost without intending to do so.”
According to Goldstuck, Google+ brings a scale that has never before been available to a social network starting from scratch.
“Gmail has 200 million users, and Google has more than a billion visitors a month, so that guarantees that the concept will achieve some traction.”
Moving the masses
Head of business development and sales for Bluntt Internet Services, Jason von Plato, says the difficulty for Google will lie in convincing people to move across from existing platforms.
“Especially something like Facebook that's tried and tested, because once people are in the habit of using something or having a familiarity with something, they are very reluctant to try something new.”
Von Plato adds that Facebook is still a platform for the younger generation, with the majority of its 750 million users aged between 18 and 34 years.
“The social media market is still a very young market and if you consider there are six billion people on the planet, I think there is still great opportunity for Google to play in that market space.”
Business potential
From a business perspective, Von Plato argues that Google could have an advantage if it can provide a professional approach to social media, by utilising its existing business tools, such as Google Adwords, SEO and Google Analytics, into the platform.
“From our experience in working with customers in the social media space, we've found that there are still a vast number of companies that don't or won't use social platforms such as Facebook.
“If you, for example, develop a Facebook page to create awareness for your business, with social media it's just that - an awareness campaign. Turning awareness into actual business is far more appealing to companies, and that's where an opportunity could lie for Google.”
Comparing Facebook with Google+, Goldstuck says the key difference between the platforms is a strategic one.
“Facebook is a walled garden, requiring the user to make a specific decision to visit the site and log in. In that context, Google+ is an open field, where people can roam around, enter via any gateway, and use it on a whim without having to go through the process of unlocking a door.”
Bigger isn't better
Google's sheer size hasn't always translated into success, however, and Goldstuck reiterates: “There is one fundamental lesson we should already have learned. Just because it's Google doesn't mean it has an automatic right to be dominant.
“Google rules the world of search and Web-based mail, but that does not translate into automatic success in social networking. Who remembers Wave? Thought not.”
Goldstuck adds that Google's advantage lies in the extent to which it can build its social network into so many aspects of people's online experience.
“However, bearing in mind that Facebook for many people represents almost their entire Web experience, Google doesn't have it all its own way.”
While many analysts are speculating whether Google's new platform could dethrone Facebook in the same way Facebook dethroned MySpace, Goldstuck says it's unlikely.
“Facebook killed MySpace because MySpace provided an appalling user experience. It was ugly, clunky and unresponsive to criticism and the need for improvement.
“When Facebook came along it first ignored it, then rolled over and played dead by failing to respond to the numerous challenges Facebook posed. The Facebook look and feel was clean and user-friendly, leaving MySpace to become a graveyard for Goths.
“We're unlikely to see Facebook preside over the same strategic disaster as MySpace.”
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already stated the company will launch “something awesome” next week.
'Insane demand'
Google has said Google+ will initially only be available to a limited number of users, and since its release on Tuesday, the invite mechanism has already had to be temporarily shut down last night due to the “insane demand”.
In a post on the Google+ site, senior VP of social, Vic Gundotra said: “We need to do this carefully, and in a controlled way.”
People have, however, been able to invite new users again this morning. For those desperate to get onto the new service, some invites are even being sold on eBay for $75.
* ITWeb is on Google+! If you'd like to test out the new platform, post a comment below. The first five people to comment on this article will receive invites. (Note: Since Google has been experiencing issues with the mechanism, ITWeb cannot guarantee you access to the service, but we can help you try.)
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