Google Plus could revolutionize the social media landscape, if it listens to early adopters

• July 14, 2011

By Alexandra Reid

Google Plus is all the rave, but will it eventually experience the same outcome as Wave? Bloggers and social media enthusiasts are clearly excited about the new platform, dissecting, praising and criticizing its features and debating whether it will ever seek to compete with Facebook or if it will flounder like Google’s other attempts to penetrate the social media marketplace.

It is estimated that Google Plus will grow to 20 million users by the end of the weekend and that the current user base has already surpassed the 10 million mark. It has also grown at an astonishing rate, with a 350-percent increase in users in just six days.

Like the rest, I am excited about how Google will grow its newest brainchild, which appears to have related DNA to Facebook and Twitter. In appearance, it is nearly identical to Facebook, with friends categorized on the left, a news stream in the middle, threaded comments and the like. In practice it resembles Twitter, in that you can follow other users who are not required to follow you back. But it does have some exciting differentiators that set it apart from its rivals.

What sets Google Plus apart

What sets Google Plus apart from other social networks is that it allows users to chose how they want to present themselves and who they share information with on the web. Through its Circles feature, users can group those they chose to follow into circles and chose which circles of users receive shared information. This is a very useful feature because it enables users to direct content to specific interest groups. For example, if you are part of a running group, you could share photos of your race solely with them.

Also, Google Plus trumps (in my opinion) Facebook’s Skype integration in that it allows users to “hang out” with up to 10 other users through video chat. Through the Huddle mobile feature, users can text between groups of people or individual friends.

Google Plus also features integration with many of Google’s other products and services, including Android, Google TV, Chrome, Docs, Maps and search. Its search function is particularly interesting because of its Sparks feature that finds articles, blog posts and videos about things that interest the user, which can be easily shared with others to spark conversations.

Why Google Plus could succeed

Google Plus has done a good job in its early days of establishing its key differentiators from other social networking sites. We’ve discussed in the past the importance of having a minimum viable product, which delivers to the user a minimum set of features that demonstrate the initial value, functionality and, most importantly, differentiation or uniqueness in the marketplace. Google Plus’s unique features clearly demonstrate its differentiation from Facebook and Twitter. It made assumptions about the wants of its target market, namely, more integration and control over how users present themselves to their social spheres and the ability to target information. So far, it appears to be receiving validation from users and experts. Although the site resembles Facebook and Twitter, I think its unique features are apparent and significant enough for users to want to use the product over other social networks.

Google Plus could very well revolutionize the social media landscape. According to ReadWriteWeb, Google’s interest is to “get users out of walled social networks and back out onto the open web.” Once this happens, users could insist that they be allowed to participate on any social network from any platform, a service that Google Plus could be well positioned to provide.

I also think that Google’s choice to limit its channel only to a few users at the outset was a good move, which will enable it to root out any problems early on. Although some businesses have begun using the site, Google has asked brands not to create profiles yet, saying it is working on creating a unique experience for businesses that includes deep analytics and the ability to connect to products like AdWords later this year. Under its current policy, business profiles will be shut down upon discovery. Instead, Google will experiment with business accounts over the coming months. While time to market of any product is important, it is better to debug its prime features first.

Once it does allow businesses to set up shop on the channel, Google Plus’s circles feature will allow them to tailor messages specifically to target markets, giving them an added advantage that other social networks do not provide.

Despite the fact that Google is taking time to work out its kinks, it did develop Google Plus fast. In an online question session reported by GigaOm, its project technical lead, Joseph Smarr, said his team put “extra emphasis on engineering speed/agility” to reduce time to market and plans to roll out new features as they are developed.

Why Google Plus could fail

Google Plus is operating in an era where technological advantage lasts only as long as it takes competitors to reverse engineer a product or leapfrog over it with an innovation of their own. Given that Facebook has just integrated with Skype, how long will it take for it to accommodate up to 10 video chats? Since Twitter already allows users to stream content according to keywords and users, and direct content to specific users through replies and direct messages, will users find enough value in Google Plus’s Circles to switch over?

In numbers, how could Google Plus compete with Facebook’s 750 million active users? Even if the estimated 200 million Gmail users joined Google Plus, it wouldn’t even be a third the size of Facebook. And why would Facebook users who are already happy with and loyal to that platform want to switch?

Google Plus has already received criticisms. A review of Google Plus’s Facebook integration says it is basic, only displaying New Feeds within the Google Plus interface with no ability to comment on items or access games, events, profiles, friend requests or photo albums without going back to Facebook. Another criticism claims that Google Plus doesn’t “get” social, arguing that its policy to require real names instead of pseudonyms for profiles is not attuned to how “people actually use their identity in the digital age” and that allowing pseudonyms could have allowed Google Plus to distinguish itself from Facebook.

Also, since Google Plus just launched, it is still operating in a hype bubble as early adopters sing lofty praises that may not turn out to be rooted in the real experiences of the everyday user. We must remember that early adopters try out new technology for many reasons, including curiosity, intrigue, market pressure and research purposes and so do not necessarily predict long-term success. Google Plus is still in the risky stage where users could try it out (and bloat the numbers) and then leave when they find it to be insignificant.

In order to succeed, Google must take advantage of these early users to refine the product. It seems to be moving in this direction, testing its platform with a select user base and sharing plans to improve and increase features. One update I’ve heard about will make Hangouts accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired by offering sign language. I’ve also caught wind of a Google Plus iPhone application that will be coming soon.

We must remember that Google Plus is still in test mode and so is still quite limited. At this early stage, what are you thoughts on the new platform?