Courtney Explains Google+

Courtney Guth is here to explain circles and sparks. —Sparkitors

Almost everybody wants it, and only a select few have it. No, I’m not talking about Daniel Radcliffe’s phone number. I am, of course, referring to Google +, the latest development in the social networking realm. It’s been dubbed “The New Facebook” by some, yet others are cynical of its appeal. While the debate is still up in the air, I wanted to check it out for myself.
I decided to jump on the bandwagon and find out what it’s all about. I was fortunate enough to score an invite from my boyfriend, which is just one of the many advantages of dating a nerd. At first, I found myself slightly confused. Figuring out how to upload a picture was almost as difficult as choosing which picture it should be. The next step was finding friends. Not a lot of people I know have joined yet, but the number is growing each and every day. For now, I just feel über trendy.

One of the elements I like the most is the “circles” feature, which allows you to create designate circles for each group of friends. (You know who also put his friends into circles? Dante.) I have circles for high school friends, college friends, close friends, family, etc. It’s a dream for those who love organizing. You also have the ability to control who sees what information. This is great if I don’t want my dad to see some of those theme party pictures. (Dear Dad: I don’t know what a theme party is, I’m studying right now…even though it’s summer?)

Besides offering great privacy control and organization, Google+ also has something unique called Sparks. At first I thought SparkLife and Google had magically combined, but alas, Sparks is just a new feature that allows you to type in your interests, and then presents a live stream of other websites featuring information related to those interests. It’s like Google does the Googling for you! Kind of creepy but kind of awesome.

Another great feature is called “hanging out.” Sure, it’s not the same as actually hanging out with friends, but I think it’s just about as close as you can get on the internet. I foresee this feature as a great way to keep in touch with high school friends while away at separate colleges. Unlike Skype, Hang Out allows you to video chat with more than one person at a time. You can also all simultaneously watch YouTube videos. That means everyone can enjoy the fun of Double Dream Hands all at the same time!

All in all, I think this website shows a lot of promise. Sure, right now it might feel a little awkward because it’s not as active as Facebook, but I remember a time before Facebook. A little thing called MySpace was all the rage. When I first joined Facebook in 2007, I thought to myself, Wow, this is confusing. This will never replace MySpace. Hmm…now that sounds familiar…

Do you think Google+ is the new FB?

Related post: Introducing Google-