Google+ – Is it really a plus? You bet it is!
When social sites such as Myspace and Facebook began, it started as a new way to simply connect with friends and family. Now that social media has evolved into an important tool for most jobs and corporations, it makes it that much more important to separate one’s work and play content on social media. Google+ is a highly trending social media platform that allows users to categorize friends, family, and other relationships by using the term ‘circles’. By having different relationships separated into circles, it gives you the freedom to decide who sees what.
Navigation and Timeline
On the left side there is a dropdown menu, similar to Facebook, with options such as people, photos, and friends sections to choose from. On the home page, there is a timeline of everyone, similar to most of the current timelines seen on other social media channels. The bonus is that each circle, are also broken into timelines in the form of tabs. With this being said, you will be able to pick your “Co-Workers” timeline and mention the meeting at 9 a.m. or pick the “Friends” timeline to mention the party going on Friday night. This can be done all at the same time and each message will be sent separately to your desired circle.
Bonus Features
Google Hangouts – This allows you to chat to others via Gmail chat and also make video calls with the particular person or group. The ‘Hangouts on Air’ feature the option to view live videos that others are posting at that moment and also allow you to invite friends and make a live video call as well.
Google Communities– Another way to network on Google+ is by using their Google Communities feature. You can search for any interest and a list of related ‘communities’ will pop up for you to join. Once you join, you can make posts and comments within that group. This is great for professional use since you may be able to network with others who are in the same job field as you are.
It’s Google! – The greatest feature is that this is yet another Google product, which can help most companies since Google is slowly taking over the way we communicate with each other in the professional field. We all use Google’s search engine to search for everything, most colleges’ email systems are run by Google using Gmail, Google Maps are used by everyone to get directions, and everyone who owns an Android device, are accustomed to using Google’s operating system as well.
From a professional perspective, I believe Google+ will flourish greatly since it allows us to network for both business and pleasure, without mixing the two worlds together.