Is Google+ for You?

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and now Google+. Let’s be honest. Initially it is fun to find people you’ve lost contact with during the crush of daily life. One of you sends a request. The other accepts. You share “since we last spoke” and they reciprocate. Good memories. Good times. Then what?

There is something powerful about social networks and the connectedness they provide. Google+ launched June 28, 2011 and six months later had an estimated user base of 62 million, according to Google+ Users Estimated at 62 Million. Google has assembled the pieces needed to be the major force in content marketing in 2012. It is poised to be a significant competitor to Facebook.

Real life happens wherever you are. Google+ is available as a website and as an app for your SmartPhone including iPhones. For the geeks, Google+ code uses Java servlets and JavaScript.

Google has been the king of search for so long it’s a part of daily speech as a synonym for the word “search.” Let’s google the Google+ tagline “Real-life sharing, rethought for the web” and learn more about Circles, Hangouts, Games, Instant Upload, Messenger, and Search.

Circles help you organize your Google+ contacts into groups that you define and name. Circles make it easy to share specific content with groups instead of everyone. People can see your collection of Circles but not the names of the Circles nor who you’ve put in them.

Hangouts provide serendipity. In real life, you go to the store and happen to run into a friend, who is with another friend, who is meeting another friend. Hangouts provide a similar option through spontaneous video chat with up to nine people. You’ll need an Android 2.3+ phone with front-facing camera. Like Apple’s Facetime, this is a very powerful way to become connected.

Games pass the time and keep you sharp. Google+ offers too many to list. Adventure, arcade, strategy, puzzles and more are all there. Of course bragging rights are easy to share, since this is a social network.

Instant Upload gets your photos and videos off your Android mobile phone or tablet and available to your Google+ Circles.

Messenger is group chat for instant messaging within your Circles. Getting plans made and changing destinations on the fly involve me checking with you, who checks with your brother, then you get back to me, and we all end up missing the movie. Messenger simplifies that by getting all the chats together in one list. It works on Android, iPhone, and SMS devices.

Google+ improves your regular Google searches by giving you more of the news and sites that are of interest to you. They do this by taking your Google +1s into account in presenting you with search results.

So the answer is yes. Google+ is worth adding to your social network toolkit in 2012. Google has created several humorous short videos to help you make the decision. The Muppet video is a personal favorite.

Add Google+ and make a Circle of your Patch friends.