<h1>Google+ Social Networking</h1>

Google launched its social network dubbed Google+ on June 28, 2011. Before its full launch to the general public, users get a chance to beta test the social networking platform which requires a Google+ Invite. The initial buzz has drawn over 25 million users in the first month since its launch, which is 20 times faster compared to any other social network (as per comScore).

Google+ is similar to Facebook in terms of "look and feel" of a social network, but has some unique features. These features like Google Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, Google Huddle and Instant Upload gives it an edge over its competition.

Google+ Features

One of the most distinguishing features of Google+ is Google Circles which allows users to configure their privacy settings to effectively manage friends in their network. This unique feature gives users flexibility to share their updates and news feeds with specific friends which means users have more control on who sees the updates. Circles also allow users to filter updates from their friends, through streams, so they don't have to sift through hundreds of status updates.

The other cool feature of Google+ is Google Hangouts which is essentially a face-to-face video communication feature allowing friends to video conference. Users require a webcam to use this feature and up to 10 users can video chat at once.

Google Sparks is another feature that enables users to search articles and other online content on various topics within Google+ and share it with friends. And Google Huddle is a feature for Android and iPhone communication devices enabling real-time group instant message chats.

There are other features like Instant Upload and games which are part and parcel of Google's social network. Also, Google will integrate some of their other online services into Google+ like Gmail, YouTube, Google Profile, Google Maps, etc.

In terms of games on Google+, I like the fact that the games activity stream is separate from the main activity stream. This helps avoid the clutter that one sees on social network platforms like Facebook.

Google+ Setup

In order to effectively use Google+, it's important that you take the time to set up your profile and understand the key features, especially Google Circles and privacy settings. One of the other aspects I like about Google's social network, is the control users have over the privacy settings.

The first thing you need to do is set up your Google+ profile and upload a picture or avatar. In this section, you can control which parts of your profile are public or private. You can provide access to your profile to people in certain circles. Some of the information on your profile includes a brief bio, occupation, educational qualifications, employment history, relationship status, gender, etc.

Next, take the time to understand your privacy settings and configure them accordingly. This step is important because it helps control what updates are shared to friends in your circles. You can control whether your posts can be shared by your friends, to friends in their circles including tagging to pictures and videos.

Once you've understood and set up your privacy settings, it's now time to create and organize your Google+ Circles. By organizing your Google+ friends in distinct Circles like family, friends, classmates, co-workers, acquaintances, etc., you can decide who sees your updates. Similarly, if you want to see updates from only specific people, you can use the streams to filter updates.

Finally, ensure that you check your Email Notifications section and change some of the settings so that you're not inundated with a whole bunch of email notifications when people add you to their circles, comment on your posts, tag you to photos, etc. You will not miss any of these updates because you will still see them when you log into your Google+ network.

Managing Circles and privacy settings is not very difficult, but initially you may find it a little confusing. I've created a Google+ Setup Guide with step-by-step video tutorials which you may find useful to set up your Google+ network.


By Anthony Godinho