A Plus for Google

July 3, 2011:


There was a tweet in my timeline on Thursday morning: Google+ sending out invites. Watch out for a Twitter explosion.

And Twitter did explode — with requests for invites.

The problem with ‘invites only' services' is that you become desperate for an invite, and it shows — on Twitter. Some time ago it was for Google Wave. I literally begged for an invite in Twitter and got one from someone I had never seen or conversed even in Twitter. Unfortunately, Google Wave was a dud and collapsed.

Now it is Google again, with Plus.

When Google Plus was announced, there was the dampener again — initially, it would be through invites only. I hit Twitter again — and begged. (I think I am becoming rather good at it) This time, I begged directly to a geek who I knew had invites to share. He responded and sent me one. Going by the initial reactions and what I have seen, Plus has received a positive response. The geek who ‘donated' the invite to me said he became so addicted on the first day itself that he was late for office! For a beta release, Plus had a lot of features, he said. He felt the concept of creating your own ‘Circles' was great, as you could share content only within the circle you want (you can have several ‘Circles'). As Google says, “You can choose to share some things with college buddies, others with parents, and almost nothing with your boss; just like in real-life.”

In Hangout, you can create a ‘Hangout' where you can have group video chat with up to 10 people. There is more to Plus such as Huddle (Group chat) and Sparks.

As I write this, I have just started trying it out, and I can say Google has done some homework. When Google announced Plus, there were jokes about how Google was ‘nonPlussed' about social networks. But now, it seems Google has got it right.

The added advantage Google has is the Android platform that seems to be steamrolling all other mobile platforms (with the exception of iPhone). An app for Plus is already available for Android phones. One for iPhone is “coming soon”. Others who have phones that run on Symbian, Windows Mobile or BlackBerry need not worry, as Plus can be accessed through the browser. If you don't have any phone or don't have an Internet plan for your phone, you can always use the computer. Just log on to plus.google.com with your (begged) invite.

Keywords: Google+, Google Plus