Will Google+ Kill Facebook ??

 What is Google+?

Google+ organizes your social contacts in "Circles," an intuitive paradigm taken from the real world. You have circles of family members, coworkers, bar buddies, hobby enthusiasts, etc. When you add a contact to Google+ you can easily assign that person to a Circle. Default Circles are provided for Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and Followers, but you can change those labels and add other Circles. What is neat about Circles is that they give you much better control of what you share and with whom than Facebook does.

When you add a comment, photo, or other item to your Google+ page, you can assign an access level to it. Only contacts in Circles with corresponding access levels can see that item. What users see in their "streams" (which are similar to Facebook's News Feed) depends on what Circles they're in. So you can share last weekend's party pictures with Friends while Family remain oblivious to your carryings-on. Users do not know what Circles you have assigned them to.

"Sparks" is a Google+ feature designed to spark conversations. It uses Google search technology to help you list interests and share them. Enter "Shakespeare" into the Sparks window, for instance, and you get a list of links to related Web pages. Click a link to add it to your stream. Click another button to save that search among your Interests for others to see.

"Hangouts" is the Google+ video chat system. Hangouts could be the key to Google+ success, at least among younger people. No appointments are necessary; just "hang out" and see who drops by to join you. It's free, unlike Skype's $4.49 to $8.99 per month service. Up to 10 users can share a video chat room simultaneously. Being a browser-based service, Hangouts does not require any software installation and does not care what operating system you use. Video chat is supplemented by Huddle, a group instant messaging service.

Will Google+ Dominate Social Media?

Google has released an Android app for Google+ and promises an iPhone app in the future. For now, though, iPhone users have only Web-based access to their streams, photos, Circles, and profiles.

Does Google+ have any hope of displacing Facebook as king of the social network mountain? Judging by the overwhelming demand for invitations to Google+ it seems possible. Many users are fed up with Facebook's complexity, privacy and security concerns, and the company's claims to own all users' uploaded data.

Remember what happened to MySpace when the Facebook alternative came along. If Google+ can be kept simple and straightforward, and privacy issues are kept to a minimum, it will certainly appeal to many disaffected Facebook members.

In order to try Google+, visit the Google+ Project page. You'll probably see the message that "Google+ is in limited Field Trial" and you'll need to click the "Keep Me Posted" button and wait for an invite. Even if a friend sends you an invite, you may not be able to login yet. But it shouldn't be long before they open it up to the general public.

Have you tried Google+, or do you have some thoughts to share? Post your comment or question below...