Google+ launched nearly two weeks ago and has been creating quite a (Google) buzz. We hope you’ve had a chance to try it out. If not, take a look at our geek peek and leave us a comment if you need an invite.
Regardless of whether it ultimately succeeds or fails, though, it is still very interesting to think about what gap Google+ is trying to fill and how it might alter the social networking landscape in the process. The most natural tendency so far has been to compare Google+ to Facebook. The big question being, “Why would people leave Facebook for Google+?”. It’s a good question because there are so many things that Facebook does well and the user base is deeply established on Facebook. However, there is another social network that has already demonstrated that Facebook has weaknesses: Twitter.
The Twitter Problem
As you should know by now, we are huge fans of Twitter. We think that practically everyone can benefit from using Twitter in some way. It allows you to spread information and connect with people around the world in a way that Facebook simply wasn’t designed to do as well. But there is a nagging problem: the mainstream public still doesn’t get Twitter (if that includes you, please read this). Despite the fact that “tweeting” has entered the modern day vocabulary, a surprising number of people still need a detailed explanation of why you would do it. Think about it: how many of your Facebook friends know about Twitter and yet have no idea what to use it for?
Google+ Changing the Equation
Here is what I’ve found really interesting about Google+ during these last two weeks:
Information is being shared in a way I normally see on Twitter BUT it’s being shared by people I only used to see on Facebook. In other words, my friends who never “got” Twitter somehow get Google+.
It is filling a void for them that Facebook has never gotten quite right: the ability to easily spread information in real-time and connect with your extended social circles. At the same time – and it is still too early to know if it will last – Google+ has also managed to do something that Twitter struggles with: getting the mainstream excited and using the service. I mean, even my dad was asking for a Google+ invite the first week it came out!
The Non-prediction
As I said before, we are trying not to make any predictions. But it’s worth considering: if Google is able to convince the mainstream Facebook audience to engage on Google+ as if it were Twitter, they just might have a winner.
