Google Takes on Facebook with New Social Network Google+

Google+, also Google Plus or G+, is a social networking service operated by Google Inc. The service launched on June 28, 2011 in an invite-only "field testing" phase. It integrates social services such as Google Profiles and Google Buzz, and introduces new services Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, and Huddles. Google+ will also be available as a desktop application and as a mobile application, but only on Android and iOS operating systems. Sources such as The New York Times have declared it Google's biggest attempt to rival the social network Facebook, which had over 750 million users in 2011. On July 14, 2011, Google announced that Google+ had reached 10 million users just two weeks after it was launched in a "limited" trial phase. After less than a day of being live, the Google+ iPhone app has the number one free spot in the Apple app store. After 3 weeks in operation, it has already reached 20 million users.

Google's attempt at supplanting Facebook garnered almost 20 million registered users since it launched Google+ on June 28, according to web-traffic analysts comScore Inc. And this is in a closed public beta launch, meaning the only way you can register is if you get an invite from another user. Google+ claims a share in the lucrative social networking space dominated by Facebook. It not only lets users post photos, videos, messages, comments, etc, but also will bring "real-world interactions" and "real-life sharing" online.

In what may sound outrageous to some, Google has claimed that Google Plus aims to "fix" the "broken" and "awkward" way in which people interact online at present. Certain interesting features in the service such as Circles, Sparks, Hangouts, and Mobile may be worth a look at. Circles, for example, shares the user's information with a large number of his/her friends and colleagues (rather than only close friends), thus expanding the friends circle of the user. That does not mean that all your info will be up for grabs. Google clarifies that the service will let users share just the right things with just the right people. The feature allows the user to club certain groups of users, such as My school pals, My colleagues, etc. Information shared in such groups will be exclusive to the group members.

Similarly, Hangouts lets you convey to your friends when you will be free for a video hangout: to watch online videos together, just like going to a movie together. Sparks is a feed of things you're interested in. You can specify your fields of interest, so that when you're free, there will always be something waiting to be watched, read, or shared. Users will also have access to an Instant Upload feature using which, Google will instantly add photos taken by a user to a private album in the cloud, with the permission of the user, of course. One major difference between Google+ and Facebook, is that the former will let users video chat with several friends simultaneously.

Currently, this service is in the pilot stage and is available by invitation only and seemed to have temporarily exceeded its capacity when we last visited. Nevertheless, you can visit the home page of this service, leave your email address, and wait for Google to get back to you. Android phone users can download the Google+ application from the Market.

Google Plus release is not only a direct threat to Facebook but also a major product for Google to rely on for social integration in its search algorithm.Will Google+ be able to upset Facebook and become the new king of social networking web space? Or will it fizzle out like Google's much-hyped Buzz? Maybe, it will depend on the number of original ideas incorporated into this service and also the ease of accessibility to the user. How do you see Google Plus vs Facebook? Do you think Google Plus has what it takes to compete with Facebook's strong user base and is Google+ better than Facebook in your opinion?