TEN REASONS WHY GOOGLE + WILL WIPE THE FLOOR WITH FACEBOOK

Google + was launched in beta mode few days back. Being in beta mode it is going through a test phase and people can join by invitation only. That has not affected numbers it seems, as G+ has already seen more than 10 million people sign up in a matter of days.

With the ever increasing influence of social networking in all of our lives and the trend towards web based computing I believe Google has finally figured out the right approach to take on Facebook and possibly dethrone it as the king of social networking sites.

So here are my ten reasons why G+ may have what it takes to spoil Mr. Zuckerberg’s party –

1.                IT’S GOOGLE – Google with its simplistic yet efficient way of implementing its products has won a fan following worldwide. While its previous attempts to step into the social networking space (Buzz, Orkut etc) have failed to inspire, G+ is being developed in the traditional Google way and that is surely going to be the differentiator this time around.

2.                GMAIL –  Integrating G+ with Gmail, the web’s premier free email service, Google will be able to give you the benefit of exchanging messages with your Social networking friends from your Gmail inbox itself. This would be a much more efficient way of corresponding with your social networking contacts than a separate site and mailbox as is done in case of FB.

3.                GTALK – Here again Google will take advantage of its established IM platform and enable you to chat with all your Social networking contacts through Gtalk’s superior IM protocol.

4.                PICASA – Being one of the most reliable, efficient and functional online photo sharing utility, Picasa accounts are automatically linked to your G+ account. You can thus share with your social networking contacts the albums you wish to share. With the ability to organize the contact in circles, you can also decide how much to share with which group/circle. This thus does away with the need to create and upload separate albums for social networking and separate ones for sharing with the people who are not on the social networking platform (as happens in case of FB).

5.                YOUTUBE – Google will leverage Youtube with G+. You would thus not only be able to recommend Youtube videos to your friends, you would also be able to upload your own videos to Youtube and share with your friends in G+.

6.                GOOGLE MAPS – Linking G+ to Google Maps, the social networking site will add another dimension to itself – recommending people near you, places of interest and even directions to a social networking contact’s place who you have managed to connect with after a long time – the possibilities are endless.

7.                GOOGLE  – Let’s not forget Google’s flagship product – the search engine – this is also being integrated with G+. Search results obtained using Google can thus be shared on your G+ account with a simple click of a button.

8.                GOOGLE DOCS & CALENDAR – With Google’s web based computing products i.e. documents and calendar having matured, it would also be possible to share documents with people on your G+ list and also match calendar’s/schedule appointments from within G+ itself.

9.                ANDROID – With Google’s mobile platform already dominating the global smartphone market, the G+ application for Android is already alive and kicking. This will not only add to the level of interest and usage of G+ but will also graduate to allowing video chatting with your G+ friends through your Android smartphone!!!

10.             PRIVACY – With all of the above aspects of our online existence getting integrated and packaged with the G+ account, one would be circumspect whether one is truly putting all the eggs in a single basket and making oneself vulnerable to loss of privacy. However if it is privacy which is to be protected there is no better service provider than Google. They have over time, demonstrated their ability to deliver superior web based products like Gmail and protect our privacy to the hilt.

The above weapons in Google’s arsenal coupled with its inimitable style of implementing products and services, make me very optimistic about G+. While FB has the first mover advantage spanning hundreds of millions of users and years of experience, Google will slowly and surely catch up. The only question that pervades is whether there is room enough in our lifestyles for more than one social networking site. If not, FB will surely see a serious threat to its progress over the long term or may just be gobbled up by Google subsequent to its listing.