I love G+, the brand new social network, and here’s why:
- It has the best of Twitter (public) and Facebook (private)
- The circles interface rocks. I know it’s childish, but I create and delete circles just to see that cute animation of the circle rolling away.
- I can have weird circles like “People to not eat with” and “People I’m sure I know but I don’t remember”. I don’t, but I could if I wanted to.
- It’s ever present on my Google home page with that new, gorgeous black toolbar.
- The hangouts – group live cam. Haven’t tried it, but I can see how this could get crazy fun.
- Viewing photos that have been shared is a smooth, clean experience.
- Sparks is the place for finding stuff you might be interested in, with some featured areas to choose from, as well as a search facility.
Ok, it’s shiny and new, and for once, I’m actually there while it’s still shiny and new.
The only thing I was having a little trouble with was adding people. On Facebook, it’s very clear: only people I actually know in person get in there. On Twitter, the timeline of interesting tweeps gives plenty of choice.
To discover people not on your Gmail address book, there are two sites I’ve just discovered:
Google+ Search: Searches through public Google+ content, and returns links to the poster and a small excerpt of the post, with your search term highlighted.
Find people on Plus: Search for people by occupation, country, gender, relationship status (someone do share when you figure out what “In A Domestic Relationship” means). The stats on the left column are quite interesting: are there really nearly 3 times as many men as women on G+?
So if you’re not on G+ yet, get on there quick! Let me know in the comments if you need an invite.