Google ready to rival Facebook

Once again, Google is trying to break into the social networking market and unlike previous failures like Google Buzz, and Wave, its latest attempt has the promise of success. The social networking market is very lucrative with advertisers and consumers using it to find everything they are looking for. Targeted ads, user control, and social sharing have made the market popular and Google's new offering, Google+, looks to combine these with the lessons learned from the success of Facebook as well as the flops of Buzz and Wave.
 

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - Google+ was unveiled to a limited group of users on Tuesday, much like Gmail was rolled out in 2004. This limited offering both generates interest because of its exclusivity, and allows developers time to test and refine the product before general release. The features of Google+ are named in traditional Google fashion, Circles, Hangout, Huddle, and Sparks. Circles is where users can create a series of networks and put people in them which limits what is shared with whom. For example, family can be put in one circle, buddies in another, and coworkers in yet another. What you share with one group will not be shared with others unless you specify that you wish to do so. Hangout allows up to 10 users at a time to engage in a video conference where the person doing the talking is shown to everyone else on screen, just like a face-to-face conversation where the listener will look towards whomever is speaking. The Huddle feature allows users to chat and discuss matters of common interest, for example, Huddle can be used by a group of friends to coordinate movie times or shopping plans. Sparks helps users find content based on their known interests. Videos, pictures, and other web-related content will be available through this feature.
Photo sharing will also be available with users able to snap a picture and upload it to the site. On their next login, they will be asked which circles they prefer to share their pictures with. Only those they permit will be allowed to see the images they post. The same will go for status updates. A user may allow others to see their updates or not, even if it's a one-way arrangement. For example, a coworker can authorize you to read your updates without being able to read yours. Until Google+ goes live with a full public offering, it will be difficult to tell if it will catch on and rival Facebook, but if the previews are any indication, Google+ may finally be the right answer to Google's social networking attempts.

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