Google Announces New Social Network - Google+

Google has announced its very own social network called Google+ i.e. Google Plus, in an attempt to target Facebook and gather share of the social network market. Google, which has been frustrated by a string of failed attempts to crack the social networking market, introduced a full-fledged social network called Google+.

Google+ is the company’s biggest foray into social networking since co-founder Larry Page took over as chief executive in April. Larry Page has made social networking a top priority at the world’s #1 web search engine, whose position as the main gateway to online information could be at risk since people are spending more time on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Google+ Social Network

Google+ is structured in a similar fashion to Facebook, with profile pictures and news feeds forming a central core. However, a user’s friends or contacts are grouped into very specific circles of their choosing, versus the common pool of friends typical on Facebook. Users can organize contacts into different customized circles such as family members, co-workers, college friends etc. and share photos, videos or other information only within those groups. So, the first thing you’re likely to interact with is something called "Circles". It’s through Circles that users select and organize contacts into groups for optimal sharing. Circles allow you to share what matters, with the people who matter most. Just make a circle, add your people, and share what’s new. Have a look at the screenshot of Circles page on Google+.

Google+ Invitation - How To Get A Google+ Invite?

Google isn’t sharing invitations to its latest project with everyone. Access to the Google+ project is currently by invitation only, and a limited number of users were given 15 invitations to bring others on Google+. It is no doubt that Google has created a buzz by limiting the new social network service to a select group of initial users. If you’re eager to begin trying out Google+ and can’t find someone with a spare invitation, you can sign up to request a Google+ account here. Google has created an entry form that asks people to submit their first name and email address so they can stay posted as the service is rolled out more fully.

Google+ on Twitter

Google has also created a Twitter account, GooglePlus, that has been tweeting out information about the new service.

Advertising on Google+

Google, which generated roughly $29 billion in revenue in 2010, said the new service does not currently feature advertising.

Google+ vs Facebook

Facebook and Google are the two social sites which are trying to compete with each other time to time for each of their products. Google wants to have a better social networking site and hence launched Google+ whereas Facebook wants to have a larger user base than that of Google.

• As with Facebook’s service, Google+ has a central page that displays an ever-updating stream of the comments, photos and links being shared by friends and contacts.
• Google+ has a combinination of both Facebook and Twitter models of social networking. A person can have friends in their network with whom they share information and they can also follow certain people, say a movie critic, as occurs on Twitter.
• Google+ will also offer a special video chat feature, in which up to 10 people can jump on a conference call.
• People are spending more time on Facebook than Google’s websites. The average U.S. visitor spent 375 minutes per month on Facebook in May, compared with 231 minutes on Google websites
• To set its service apart from Facebook, Google is betting on what it says is a better approach to privacy; a big issue that has burned Facebook, as well as Google, in the past.

Click here to learn more about Google+ and try a demo of it.