What Has Google+ Done?

Are you on Google’s new social startup simply called “Google+“? It’s basically similar to Facebook and Twitter, combining elements from each and also implementing its own feature set. With the popularity of Twitter and Facebook, is there room for yet another social network? Surprisingly, yes.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve seen a recent disruption in the social media circles that coincides with the launch of Google+. I never thought any service could supplant Facebook and Twitter, and I’m not yet saying Google+ has, but it has definitely made an impact.

Being a Google service, people took notice with a flurry of signups and activity, but how does it differ from Facebook and Twitter? On Twitter, I’m following over 1000 users and my Timeline is constantly updating. I learned a long time ago that Twitter is NOT email and don’t try to read unread tweets – ain’t gonna work. But with this flood of tweets, finding the “good stuff” isn’t easy. I get personal stuff, business stuff, tips, sales, articles, you name it.

For me, Facebook is somewhat similar to Twitter though I follow much less users. I still “like” pages for businesses and organizations so I do get duplicate content from Twitter. There’s more person-to-person interactions on Facebook, mainly since I know the people I friended on Facebook.

Now here comes Google+. This is a fresh start, a clean slate, a blank piece of paper. Of course, you see the same early adopters you met on other social networks. But with Google+ circles, you have a better way of managing people, personas, and content. And like Facebook, the use of real names dictates more civil behavior online (in general). With these new mechanics in play, users can more easily see and acknowledge the shortcomings of Facebook and Twitter.

So really, what has Google+ done? It’s caused a rift, a pause, and it’s made you think. Google has finally broken the hold of Facebook and Twitter and created a fissure that gives opportunities to Google+ or the next big thing.