Google+ set to challenge Facebook and Twitter

by Steven Mostyn - Jun 28 2011, 20:07

With the likes of MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to choose from, you’d think online users have more than enough variety when it comes to selecting their social network(s) of choice.

However, technology giant Google clearly thinks there’s still room for another combatant in the social networking arena, which is why it has this week unveiled Google+.

Although currently only available as a test platform, the Google+ Project is described as a social network that aims “to fix” online sharing while providing its users with a more transparent and accessible approach to privacy.

“For us, privacy isn’t buried six panels deep,” commented Google vice president of product management Bradley Horowitz in a Reuters report—taking something of a swipe at another leading social network.

Another feature likely to set Google+ apart from its rivals is Circles, which enables users to effortlessly and accurately share “the right stuff with the right people” by distributing content into specific groups or Circles (i.e., one for friends, one for family members, one for colleagues, and so on).

Meanwhile, Sparks is essentially an active content recommendation tool that searches out and gathers videos and articles that it thinks the user will like, thus providing a steady stream of multimedia that can be consumed and shared at one’s leisure. 

Then there’s Hangouts, which “until we perfect teleportation, is the next best thing” thanks to providing users with an online meeting place for unplanned video-based gatherings where Circles members can drop by and have “a face-to-face-to-face” chat.

Other contributing aspects include: group-based text chatting through Huddle; and Instant Upload, which allows mobile phone users (Google Android, we’d fancy?) to enjoy the advantages of automatic uploads to the Google+ network.

Although Google is presently only opening Google+ to a limited number of users, the California-based titan has promised the full service will soon be available to everyone.

 

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kiqDr7CFmZQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Around the Web