A quick take on Google plus features

An article by Amit Roushan    1 Comment

The past few weeks has seen Google’s ambitious answer to Facebook, Google+ project, getting unveiled. With stats revealing 20 Million users in just three weeks, Google plus seems to be Google’s next weapon to fight Facebook. After the fall of Google Buzz and Google Wave, Google plus promises to stay longer or even conquer the Social networking arena.

To make Google plus different from Facebook, Google has come up with some fresh ideas that would give the users something new to try. There are certain  features that sets Google plus apart from Facebook and makes it worth giving a try. Understanding these features before you dive in to Google plus can make your experience much more fun. So in this stone I will tell you all about these new features the guys at Google have come out with.

Circles:  Facebook friend list equivalent.

Thanks to the drag and drop feature, they are far more easy to use. Google plus has incorporated different circles where you can sort people you follow. Depending upon this circle you interact with your contacts. The circles are completely different entities so you don’t mix one with the other.  It removes the chance that you share something silly about your office in your friend circle and that gets leaked into your office circle.

Sparks: Facebook Share equivalent.

More than just sharing, Sparks has much more to offer. Sparks can be considered as Social networking combined with browsing you interest. Sparks should be something that is completely new. In Sparks you can add your interests and browse when you are bored. Once you feel something interesting, just click it to share it.

Hangouts: Facebook Videochat alike.

Hangout is a new feature that came with Google plus. Hangout as the name suggest is really about hanging out with your friends. In Hangout you are allowed to talk to various people at the same time. To start a Hangout, you just need to click the Welcome button in the home tab. It prompts you to start a hangout and invite individuals or entire circles. Up to 10 people can be in a hangout at once and it will be seen in that circle or users’ stream.

Photos: Facebook photos equivalent.

It’s the simple photo feature where you upload your pictures and share with your contacts.  Apart from viewing and managing, the Photo editor feature comes in rescue to make it handier then the Facebook Photos. Moreover, with an Android app, there is a way to upload photos that you take with your phone straight to Google plus, though this can be disconcerting sometimes. Google also allows you to share the albums with your desired circle to make social networking safer.

Huddle: Facebook Groupchat equivalent.

Huddle doesn’t seem much exciting, though this is basically meant for those people who love chatting in groups.

Few Words for Google

The simple geeky interface is taken as an asset by few whereas some people think this could be  Google plus’ achilles heel. Compared to Facebook’s 750M users, Google has a long way to go but the initial figures have shown great promise. The name Google project suggests it is not an end product and will come with several tweaks as per the demand and suggestions of the users constantly.

Few Words for Facebook

At the moment, Facebook should not really be worried about Google plus, because when it comes to Social networking, Facebook has been a household name. To divert people from Facebook to Google plus would be a tough job for Google. Rather, Facebook should seriously think of Google as they are now and then coming with something promising to fight Facebook to be the no. 1 in social networking domain too.

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