Until Facebook came along, Google was the undisputed online leader. However, this started to change somewhat with the explosive popularity of Facebook. Sparking a debate regarding which is more influential, Facebook or Google?

Google, not content to simply remain a search engine continually look to diversify their product offering. From a large selection of online office tools – including what is now one of the most popular email programs – to mobile phone operating systems, Google are keen to spread their ‘cyber net’ wide in order to maintain a very healthy web presence.

Back To Try Again

Having tried and failed to make in-roads into the social networking arena before with Google Buzz, the internet giant is back to try again with the much anticipated Google+ social networking platform.

Presently by invitation only (though up to 25 million unique users already), Google+ is currently in the beta phase but boasts a number of nice tools wrapped up in a clean, easy to use interface.

Not to be confused with Google +1 (which is a ‘like’ button on steroids), the Google+ social media platform has a number of familiar – and in some cases improved – networking tools.

Circles
The Circles function is akin to Facebook’s list. Users can use a simple drag and drop tool to create various circles of friends. Individuals are placed in circles based on the relationship with the account holder. For instance, a person would put their family members in the “family” circle and their work colleagues in another, business acquaintances in another and so on.

Users can then publish their content to whichever circles (or groups) as they wish. Making sharing targeted messages with specific groups a breeze.

Sparks
Sparks enables you to tap into what Google does best; recommend content. Type in what you’re interested in and the Sparks function will deliver content it thinks you’ll like. The idea being to provide you with instant access to watch, read, or share content where ever you are.

Hangouts
Hangouts allow people to chat with those in their Circles. As with Facebook, the instant messenger video tool is built right into the user interface, making meeting over the web even easier.

Huddle
Huddles are similar to discussion groups. A Google+ user can create a topic and others can post comments, information etc. in response in real time.

In conclusion, Google+ looks quite promising with its array of well-designed social tools, intuitive user interface and ‘idiots guide’ for getting the best out of it. Whether or not it will topple Facebook from its high and mighty social media perch remains to be seen.

Get in touch now to find out how you can use Google+ for business gain: Facebook, Twittere-mail, or simply give us a call on 01454 261111.

 

Did you set-up a Google+ page for your business only to have it removed by Google? What do you think the Google+ pages for business are going to look like? Let us know your experiences with the service below. Look forward to hearing from you.

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