I know a huge amount has already been written about Google+, but I do know there are also some people who have heard the term but not really understood what it’s all about, or why it’s a possible contender in the social networking arena. I shall therefore set out to tell you why.

At present you may not be able to get into Google+. I was fortunate enough to get an invite using a loophole which Google have now seemingly closed. It’s a shame, as the true test of any social network is how it handles interaction between friends. If your friends can’t get on there, what’s the point?

That said, the site is still in its testing phase and there’s probably some way to go before Google get everything nailed down and start allowing everyone in. You possibly remember when they introduced Gmail and how people were clambering over each other to be able to get those precious invites which were few and far between.

So what’s Google+ all about?

Well, it’s trying to be a number of different things all rolled into one. It’s trying to be Facebook, Twitter and StumbleUpon, to give you a single destination for friends, news and interests. But what it really does is to make Google itself entirely social. It wraps a social elements around a number of it’s key features, including Search, Picassa and its relatively new +1 button. And it does this rather well.

When logging in you’ll find yourself looking at a screen which is not too dissimilar to Facebook. You have your profile picture, links down the side and your friend feed down the middle. At first glance there’s very little to distinguish the two beyond some minor cosmetic differences. But it’s when you look under the bonnet that you start to see just how different the two websites are.

Circles

Google+ is built on the concept of circles of friends, just as in real life. And just like real life, there are certain things you would like certain circles of friends to see. For instance, you wouldn’t want your boss to see you enjoying a day out when you’ve told him you’re off sick! Whilst Facebook does a similar job with its lists of people, I’ve never found it to be particularly intuitive or easy to access. It’s also rather easy to forget to limit what you’re doing when posting.

I think Google have really nailed it with their Circles concept. You organise your friends, family, colleagues and general acquaintances into various circles. You may also have a colleague who also happens to be a friend; you can add that person to multiple circles too. And once you have these circles set up, each time you post a message, upload a picture or do anything at all, you choose which circles you share it with. That way you should never be caught out saying the wrong thing to the wrong person again.

And whilst Facebook won’t let you follow someone unless they follow you back, Google+ has aligned itself more with the Twitter concept and allowed anyone to follow anyone else. The difference is that if you’re following someone who isn’t reciprocating, you will only be able to see the posts they have made entirely public. It’s a rather neat concept which allows you the freedom to express anything to anyone, but then also allows you to keep your personal posts private to a select few.

Photos and Videos

Just as with Facebook, Google+ will allow you to post photos and videos to share. Unlike Facebook however, Google+ assumes you would like to double-check those pictures before it makes them visible to the world. So whenever you upload a picture it sits and waits for you to specifically state who you want to share it with. It also has an automatic upload feature if you take a photo using the Android app (and probably the iOS one too when it becomes available), sending the picture straight to your profile once it’s taken. You can then visit Google+ and decide whether you want to share it or not.

+1

Google+ also combines the concept of +1 within the site, just as Facebook has its ‘Like’ buttons. You tell Google you +1 a site and it posts it on your +1 page within your profile. Rather cleverly though, it also favours that particular site should a friend conduct a similar search to you on Google’s main search page. Whilst this is still in its infancy, I think it could prove to be key in delivering better search results in the long run.

Sparks

So far I’ve spoken about Google+ in how it compares to Facebook and Twitter. But what about StumbleUpon? That’s brought to you in a feature called Sparks. Sparks does a search based upon keywords you’ve chosen to bring you up-to-date news on what you’re looking for. It does differ from StumbleUpon in that it uses algorithms to decide what to show you rather than recommendations of other users, but I can’t see it being too long before +1 becomes an integral part of this (if it isn’t already). Your Sparks are also completely private, so you’re free to follow anything you like.

Conclusion

What you get with Google+ is more a grouping of social applications under one banner than a single website. It brings a social aspect to Search, Picassa and +1 in a secure manner. If you can get enough of your friends to come on over to Google+ I think it stands a very good chance of contending with Facebook. Google Buzz, this certainly is not.