Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Why Google+? " I need another social network like I need a hole in the head"

Since the “very soft” launch of Google+ I have been a big fan. Google has really listened to the people and continues to listen in its development of this great service. From the development of circles, Sparks that drive our curiosity, the IM chat of the huddle, to the open live video interactions that happen in a Hangout they have turned a social network into a life network.  As I begin to tell friends and family about this great new service, I keep getting the same response before I can even describe what Google+ is.  It usually sounds something like this. “I already have Facebook and Twitter. I need another social network like I need a hole in the head”. It’s the same exact response I would hear when Facebook started taking over MySpace.  Back then, it was an easy conversation to convert people. I would say MySpace was designed with musicians’ interaction with fans in mind. Facebook was designed to learn more about what people are doing (and to pick up chicks). It was a simple distinction for the masses to make and MySpace had become so cluttered that the simplicity of Facebook really paid off. I believe the same scenario exist today. Facebook is the new MySpace. It was designed to learn what’s on your friends and families mind and it’s turned into what’s on everyone’s mind you have ever met or, because of the need for monetization, what you need in Farmville. It’s cluttered. It has grown too large for its intended purpose. This is where Google + comes to the rescue. With the knowledge of what people now want in a social network; Google has designed the first life network. Now the question I know you are asking right about now. What’s a life network? Well, It’s a social experience, a work collaboration, an enthusiasts platform, and a place to just Hangout. See, because of circles, I can choose who sees what I am sharing. For example, I can suggest three places for dinner tonight to just my wife and children. I can post my thoughts on a new product line for my co workers to see and not family and friends. I can post crazy cat videos to all my circles because I know everyone likes a crazy cat video. It’s up to me and I don’t have to worry about censoring my social life to meet everyone’s needs. I can truly be social and choose who I’m socializing with based on the content of my post.  Google+ is not another hole in your head. That would be suicide. It is a life network. So in the famous words of my aunt “Get a Life” network and join Google+.