Whenever we think of social networking site, there are several names comes in mind like (
Top 15 most popular social networking sites )
twitter,
linkedin,
MySpace,
Ning,
Tagged,
orkut, and
Facebook. Facebook is sitting in the Top position among these sites. Facebook has around 700 million users as of now. And recently on 6th July it has added a most awaiting feature on it, the
Video Chat in collaboration with skype. There are more feature yet to come in Facebook like Facebook app for Apple Inc's iPad and a specialized app for photo-sharing on the iPhone etc.
Recently Google launches (unofficial launch) a new product from his magic bag Google Plus: a giant social networking site. Presently Google Plus Beta version is available, which is in testing phase. It is not open for everyone. People have the access of this and they invited others, those who are already gmail users. And so on invitation is floating to the whole World Wide Web. You believe it or not even though it is in testing phase and having restricted joining scheme,
the current number of users of Google plus is more than 4.5 million . I feel by the time Google will launch a stable and open for all version of Google plus, already existing Google plus number of users would have increased manifolds.
So what is Google plus? How does it work? Why is it becoming popular? Many questions are there. Let's discuss them all.
It's not the first time Google coming to social networking, in the past Google had launched
Google Buzz,
Google Wave (
Introduction article on Google wave by me), and had acquired
Orkut in the same line but due to many reason all got failed. Orkut got good popularity initially but recently it is losing it users exponentially. So now google has come again by giving its full effort to sweep off Facebook completely with Google Plus. In google plus they have concentrated on rectifying the loop holes of Facebook. Say for example if wish to share a photo/link/video in facebook, everybody will be able to see the object and even the updates. It might be possible that in your 'wall' , you are seeing of a person who is friend of friend of yours. So the simple motto of google+ is "Share the things with whom you wish to share".
When you will join Google+, and after you logged in google , you will see google page like this. In place of +You, you will see your name in that place.
Basically Google+ comes with five main features.
Let discuss all the features in detail.
1. Circles
Similar like Friends on Facebook users can make groups/circles of friends of Best friends until Headache. Google+ Circles helps you organize everyone according to your real-life social connections like family circle, friend circle, college circle just the way we think. By default there are 4 circles already available: Friends, Family, Acquaintances and Following. You can add people to these circles. You can also create a new circle by clicking on the empty circle on the left. Now you can simply drag and drop a person into an appropriate circle to add them or you can also remove a person by dragging them out from a circle. Even the same person can be part of multiple circles. Say for example if your friend is also a Classmate of college A and is also your colleague in company B, you may want to put him in three circles. Simply drag and drop him in all the circles individually. Google+ intention is "sharing the right stuff with the right people shouldn’t be a hassle."
2. Hangouts
It is basically a video chat application like google talk/Skype. But it uses a new social media video technology. you can invite yr circles, you can chat them in the group, or feeling bore so in spite of chatting , you can watch them while they are chatting in the group. It 'll give a real feel of hanging out with friends through web. You can start a hangout from the stream whenever you want. Simply click the blue Start a Hangout button on the side of your stream. You’ll be taken to a "green room" where you get your camera set up and choose additional circles or individuals to add. No one can see you while you're in the green room. Once you click the green Hang Out button your video feed will be broadcast.
3. Instant Upload
Just imagine your friend is watching your live video broadcast, and he says when you should take photos by saying CHEESE. Yes you can do that by Google+. With Instant Upload, your photos and videos upload themselves automatically, to a private album on Google+. All you have to do is decide who to share them with.
4. Spark
Spark is something which will keep you inside the Google+ only. You want to read about movies/entertainment/food/news/gardening or want continuous update on these. Spark is the answer for you. This is the feature surely Facebook lacks. When you first arrive in Sparks, you'll see a collection of featured interests. If nothing strikes your fancy, search for a different interest. Let's say you're learning to Java technology. You can search for 'Java technology,' then add it as an interest so you can always be kept up to date on the world of object manipulation. And if you get tired of people calling you a clown all the time, you can remove this interest. According to me it is combination of Google News and Google Reader. I generally hang out here.... ;)
5. Huddle
Let's tweet inside the circle or say it Group texting. Texting is great, but not when you’re trying to get six different people to decide where to go for lunch, right? Huddle takes care of it for you by turning all those different conversations into one simple group chat, so everyone gets on the same page long before you get sore thumbs..The idea behind Huddle is that you can turn all these exchanges into one big group chat to save you time.
Now at last about +1 Button
Use the +1 button to publicly show what you like, agree with, or recommend on the web. The +1 button can appear in a variety of places, both on Google and on sites across the web. For example, you might see a +1 button for a Google search result, Google ad, or next to an article you're reading on your favorite news site. Your +1’s and your social connections also help improve the content you see in Google Search.
When you +1 something, the +1 button will turn blue and the +1 will be added to the +1's tab of your profile. Here you can manage all your +1’s and decide whether you want to publicly display the +1’s tab.
Regardless of whether you chose to publicly share your +1’s tab, your +1’s will still be visible to others viewing the content you +1’d. You can control the visibility of the +1’s tab on your profile. However, remember that +1’ing is a public action. Anyone could potentially see items you’ve +1’d when they visit the same places on the Web.
Google surely has the Ring...........
"One Ring to Rule Them All"
I hope this little bit discussion is helpful for you. If you have any other query, shoot them all.... ;)
