A new kid on the block

Watch out!

All of the geeks are abuzz with the latest and greatest from Google, G+. Here a few thoughts that come to mind:

Buzz vs Woody

Google has had plenty of time to watch and learn from Facebook’s mistakes and simplify the user experience in G+. But is it simple enough for the average non-tech user?  Time will tell. Right now it’s the darling #shinynewsocialmediatoy for all the social media ninjas/experts and rockstars (I’m sure ebooks are not far off!) out there.

I’ll leave the others like Chris Brogan and Scobleizer to do the thorough analyses but here’s my..

#MyTwoCents

While I’m not ready to rebuild my social network yet (that has been 4 years in the making on Facebook) there is something about a fresh start. With Facebook, lists  and limited profiles came after you already (begrudgingly) added people that you may have not wanted to add (aka boss/coworkers) and to go back is just a whole lot more work than a lot of us cared to do. I really like the drag and drop UI of G+, which lets you select people and drag them into existing or new circles. A true separation of the many sides of you.

Geeks vs Mainstream

Right now though, it’s only the early adopter geeks on G+ so I don’t see it becoming too overwhelming just yet. By the same token, I wonder though how widely adopted will it be by the mainstream? Putting on my product manager hat, what problem is it really solving? The fact that there are privacy concerns with Facebook? (not sure) The fact that managing your friends is not that easy on Facebook? (not sure). Or is it just giving Facebook the competition it finally needs to stay in-line? And Google the social presence that it so desperately needs to get right?

Familiar vs Unfamiliar.

I think most people have come to terms with Facebook and ‘get’ it and are comfortable using it the way it is. To switch over and start over may not be realistic for most just yet. But if you must go and take it all with you, there are plugins that allow you to extract your contacts on Facebook and rebuild your social graph on G+.  There are also ways to make your Facebook look more like G+ and your G+ look like Facebook, if you must!

And for Businesses?

No pages (yet). You don’t have to drop everything and move over to G+  but it’s worth keeping an eye on as Google integrates more and more of their web properties.

Another +? There’s no sign of Farmville. Yet.

Are you on Google+ ? What do you think about it?

Photo: Arts & Entertainment