Google Plus Might Change The Face of Social Networking

Google + might just change everything.

There's been a lot of speculation and discussion about what Google can do to stay relevant and keep up with other social networking giants over the last few months. People in the tech industry have been hearing a lot of talk, but some have been predicting that the search engine might be headed for a fall.

With the less than stellar response to other social networking ventures like Google Buzz and Google Wave, many people thought that Google just wasn't able to make something that people would flock to. I, personally, had my doubts as well.

It's no secret that I am a Google fangirl, I love the way that they think outside of the box to come up with products that just work. Even still, I was doubtful.

With the unveiling of Google Plus (or Google +), I can tell you that I honestly think that they have done it again, and are changing everything. Google + is one of the most exciting social networking products ever and, judging from the early rush to sign up, others seems to agree.

If you haven't had the chance to try it out for yourself, (and since accounts are by invitation only, you might not have) this is how it works:

The first part of Google + is Circles. Circles solves the problem that many people have with Facebook. It allows users to form small groups of friends and share things with only those people. You can also have people who are in several groups. Unlike with Facebook, where people have to either share things with all of their friends or none, the user can control who has access to their information. For example, if you had pictures from a birthday party that featured you drunk and dancing with a lampshade on your head, you could share those with your closest friends without worrying that your boss or your clients would see them as well.

Here's a video about it:

Next, there is Google Hangouts. Hangouts allows people to create their own video chat room that can be accessed in a variety of ways. With a mobile device, android app or PC, your friends can all join in and chat with you whenever your hangout is available. This is one of my favorite features and I think it will be giving other video conferencing sites like Skype a run for their money. As it is, I think that the video quality and ease of using Google Talk with video far surpasses that of other video chat providers.

Here's a look at how it works:

The best part of Google + is Google Sparks. Sparks is a lot like the old Google Buzz and allows users to share blogs and websites with their friends. You can add stuff and share interests while you browse the web and it feels a lot like Facebook.

Here's a video about Sparks:

Google + shows promise and judging from the amount of interest, it looks as though it could change the face of social networking. The problem is that, at least for now, the service is by invitation only, and already their servers are over max capacity.

That being said, if you're looking for a Google + invite, I am willing to give an invitation to the first five people who comment on this article and leave their contact info.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for TechCareersBlog. Along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

Google Plus Might Change The Face of Social Networking

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