Google+ launch hopes to compete with Facebook

Following months of speculation, the Google+ (Google Plus) social media project launched on Tuesday, marking the tech giant's third attempt at taking a bite out of Facebook.

Tuesday's "field trial" launch - call it a social media test drive - gave access to a limited number of users with a full launch expected in the coming months.

Tech bloggers and experts granted a sneak peak have shared some interesting reviews, but the question still remains:

"Is this another Buzz or Wave, or is la Goog serious this time?" writes Richi Jennings in his Computerworld blog.

Hoping third time will be a charm, Google is banking on its latest product to become a viable alternative to Facebook, and there may be reason to be optimistic.

Circles

Google has conceived a clever way to censor which friends can see specific posts, one that resembles offline social networking. Circles are groups used to organize your friends, allowing you to carefully select those who get to view your posts.

For example, co-workers can be segregated from family, which might keep your Christmas photos from becoming the latest chat at the water cooler. The video below explains further:

But while practical and innovative, organizing all of your friends into Circles could feel like a tedious chore. As Peter Pachal points out in his PCWorld story, "it's one of the reasons we have different social networks (LinkedIn for work, Facebook for friends, etc.)"

Hangouts

Skype-like video chatrooms with a terrible name, Hangouts are vastly superior to Facebook's mid-90s style instant messaging. Operating through Gmail, Hangouts allow you to chat with circles of up to 10 people.

The friend who is talking is displayed at the centre of your screen, and if two or more people are speaking at once, the loudest friend takes centre stage. If there is one social media feature Google+ has already usurped Facebook with, its the Hangout.

Sparks

Finding content to share on Facebook requires an outside search, but Google+ brings the search to your social networking. Sparks allows you to use Google's greatest asset to search for sharable content without opening another tab in your browser.

Simply enter a search term and Sparks will scour the web for relevant content, including articles, blog posts and videos. From here you can share content with your circles without having to copy and paste a link. Not exactly a social media necessity, but a nice perk nonetheless.

Automatic information

Those who use Google products such as Gmail might find the signup to be either convenient or irritating. Google+ apparently imports information from other Google platforms automatically, including the photo sharing service Picasa. In fact, Picasa users are given a rather counter productive ultimatum: "Link Google+ with Picasa Web," or "don't join Google+."

Users new to Google products shouldn't find the sign up process to be difficult, especially those familiar with Facebook's procedures.

Privacy Practice

Information in your new profile can be used to target web ads and refine search results. Google+ makes this explicitly clear, something that is sure to deter a few potential users. But Facebook users would be foolish to assume their information isn't being used in a similar way. The ostensible lack of trust is certainly alarming, but at least you are aware of such information sharing before creating your profile.

What do you think of Google+?

(Photo credit: Screengrab Google+)