In this digest I address the new social media tool that everyone has been talking about...Google+

1.
GOOGLE
+
UNPLUGGED
Just
when
you
thought
you
had
updating
your
Facebook
status,
Tweets
and
Retweets
in
order,
connected
with
colleagues
on
Linked
In,
shared
family
photos
on
Flickr,
and
took
advantage
of
using
your
webcam
on
Skype
under
control,
Google
throws
in
a
wrench…Google
+
Google+
is
in
its
beta
release,
meaning
there
are
no
ads
or
business
pages
(yet!)
but
if
you
happen
to
be
one
of
the
select
few
that
have
been
invited
to
experiment
and
poke
around
the
new
platform
than
you’re
part
of
the
1.8
million
total
visits
for
the
week
ending
July
16th.
What
is
Google
+
all
about?
Google+
is
a
social
network
that
combines
the
BEST
features
of
social
media
giants:
Facebook,
Twitter,
Linked
In,
Skype,
Flickr
etc.
BUT…
It’s
done
so
much
more
than
that.
Google+
is
intuitive.
It
allows
users
to
compartmentalize
their
lives
the
way
we
live
in
real
time.
Once
on
Google
+
you
can
invite
your
entire
network
to
connect
with
you
by
adding
them
to
specific
circles
that
correspond
with
your
relationship.
Why
it
trumps
Facebook?
Unlike
Facebook’s
lump
of
hundreds
of
people
you
may
or
may
not
really
know,
Google+
allows
you
to
put
your
mom
in
your
family
circle,
your
best
friends
in
your
friends
circle,
your
gym
buddies
in
the
fitness
circle,
work
colleagues,
softball
team
and
people
you
met
at
the
bar
last
night
all
in
their
own
circle.
Just
like
in
real
life
you
would
share
different
things
with
each
group.
With
Google+
you
can
choose
who
exactly
you
want
to
share
with.
For
instance:
Most
likely
my
friends
will
not
be
interested
in
this
article
dissecting
Google+
but
there’s
a
slight
chance
that
my
professional
network
will
be.
Similarly,
my
colleagues
will
be
uninterested
in
seeing
photos
from
my
friend’s
baby
shower
and
so
on
and
so
forth.

2.
The
“Facebook
Like”
gets
a
Facelift:
You
can
endorse
content
with
a
+1
rather
than
a
“like.”
Which
provokes
my
thought
that…
maybe
those
+1’s
will
add
up
and
turn
into
a
new
Google
algorithm
linking
page
rank,
SEO
results,
etc.,
to
how
many
+1's
you
get.
Think
about
it,
Google
could
become
completely
user
based
by
influencing
search
engine
rankings
via
their
vote.
And
it
probably
won't
be
just
the
+1s
but
also
what
content
appears
in
the
Stream.
Now,
Facebook’s
close
cousin…Twitter:
Google+
will
allow
you
to
follow
users
regardless
of
whether
or
not
they
return
the
favor.
Why
is
it
better
you
ask?
Well
you
can
group
those
people
in
the
same
circles
this
way
you
have
the
ability
to
filter
information
intake
to
your
personal
liking.
Twitter
hoped
to
accomplish
this
with
their
“Lists”
option
though
it
never
really
took
off.
And
the
hype
about
Skype:
Skype
is
one
on
one.
Google+
Hangout
is
up
to
10
people
anywhere
in
the
world
anytime,
for
FREE.
It
basically
says,
“Hey,
I’m
online
and
I
want
to
hangout!”
You
have
the
capability
to
hangout
with
your
friends
and
coordinate
plans
for
the
weekend,
stay
in
touch
with
family,
host
a
business
meeting
or
if
you’re
bored
just
invite
your
circles
to
“hangout.”
The
coolest
feature
about
this
is
that
the
camera/screen
shifts
based
on
who
is
talking,
rather
than
trying
to
have
10
video
chat
windows
open
at
once.
Lastly
Flickr,
TwitPic,
Instagram:
Go
ahead
and
upload
those
233
photos
from
that
40th
Birthday
Party
from
the
weekend
without
worrying
who
is
going
to
see
them.
Why?
Because
now
you
can
share
your
memories
with
who
you
want
to
share
them
with.
Yep,
you
can
discriminate
who
views
your
photos
by
simply
checking
off
who
you
want
to
share
them
with
rather
than
fussing
with
all
of
those
complicated
privacy
settings
like
you
would
on
Facebook.
Or
you
can
share
them
with
the
world
if
that’s
more
your
style.
The
Bottom
Line:
Google+
offers
users
everything
they’re
already
doing…on
ONE
social
media
tool.
It
plays
to
the
convenience
that
people
seek
in
everyday
life
and
takes
into
account
how
precious
their
time
is.
The
slight
catch
is
that
Google+
will
only
grant
access
to
users
with
a
Gmail
account.
Coincidentally,
enough
you
also
have
to
have
a
Gmail
account
to
use
YouTube,
which
is
the
2nd
largest
search
engine
next
to
Google,
also
owned
by
Google.
Hmmm…next
up?
Google
search
engine
domination.