What the heck is this "Google+" and why exactly should I join it?
I've gotten a handful of invites (???) from folks for Google+ (and thank you to everyone that sent me an invite), but I still can't for the life of me figure out what it's supposed to be. I mean, it's allegedly pitched as some sort of replacement for Facebook, but that's not readily apparent when one clicks on an invitation. There's also the not-inconsequential issue that it doesn't work on "older" browsers and also was launched without, apparently, smart phones and the like in mind.
I think I may need a little more convincing on this one, first...
That is all.
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Its better than FB because part of its core functionality is to keep your 'friends' separated into groups.
For example I NEVER have work friends on Facebook. Too hard to keep bitching about work separate from friendly watercooler BS.
On Google+ I have my work, political, family, and friends circles. Something cool and non-offensive gets posted to all, work stuff stays in work, etc.
For a man in your position you could add me to your "loyal reader" circle which would be separate from your "fellow blogger" circle. So then you could talk to Tam and Robb and Uncle about me in one circle and I'd never hear a word of it.
Well, as for what, a good summary actually is the ha-ha-only-serious 'its like facebook, but not facebook.'
Older browsers, it works fine in Firefox 3.6. I haven't voluntarily used IE in years. It *should* work in any recent browser that supports the HTML 5 standard.
Smartphones, you're kidding right? There is already an Android app, there is an iphone app in development, and there is a mobile version of the site at http://google.com/+ that works on Android, iOS 3+, Blackberry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile.
It's just another Facebook clone. I'm playing around with it but don't expect it to really go anywhere.
It does seem to be better at forcing you to classify your contacts into groups, which makes it easier to control what info you share with what groups. Given that I could see it gaining traction with more technical people that value their privacy and public/work/personal separation.
Also, they do have a mobile app on Android. It works quite well for me. I especially like the ability to tag a photo from within the app and publish it real quick.
I like its functionality better than FB and it's not full of stupid games and useless BS. (yet)
Its ultimate usefulness will depend on how many people sign up. So far it's pretty hot in the computer geek sector.
Good place to escape the FB riffraff.
Just got an invite myself. I'll probly join, but I donno that I'll stay. I barely use facebook except to keep up with some highschool & college friends I don't otherwise keep in touch with...
Freiheit and Alan said it better than I could have. I'm also in the "keep an open mind" phase. I didn't want to go to Facebook because I already had MySpace and didn't do a lot there, so why move? Found out it was much better to keep in contact with other people than MySpace. My hope is that with the circles, Google+ is even better than FB.
It's another way for Google to collect you personal information. Yeah, I know privacy is dead, but I don't have to GIVE the information away.
Gotta go with xkcd on this one....
As for the "circles" aspect, Facebook allows the same sorting ability using "lists."
As far as I can tell, it's the same as Facebook, only without your friends.
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