Facebook Facing Potential Competition

Currently Google has removed the ability to send out invitations, so unfortunately I can't hand out any invites. However, I do plan to update this post once invites become available again so keep watch.

A screenshot of my Google+ profile

Today Google opened up the Beta for their new social network, and clearly intended competition for the giant that is Facebook, Google+. Now you may be about to point out their past attempt at entering the world of social networking Orkut, and while I'm not all that familiar with it, based upon what I've experienced so far of Google+ Google certainly has a winner on their hands.

Everything about Google+ is just slick, from the overall presentation to the various functionalities like posting updates and photos. If you're at all familiar with Facebook, when asked to think of a color to associate with the site blue would more than likely pop into your head. If just for that one reason Google+ is refreshing. No more blue, just a black navigation bar and everything else is just white or grey. You're probably wanting more reasons than just color to be interested in Google+ and there are plenty others. For starters with that refreshment of color comes a fresh new aesthetic. Everything looks incredibly clean and slick compared to Facebook, not that Facebook is that ugly of a site to begin with though. I think what really makes a difference is the welcome lack of the clutter created by chat on the left and those pesky page and friend suggestions on the right. Granted this is a beta, but for the time being it is a definite step up from Facebook. On a side note, apparently Google managed to nab an Apple designer that worked on the original debut visual operating system and I've gotta say based upon how clean and slick that Google+ is it definitely shows.

In terms of features Google+ is essentially like for like with Facebook, including the ability to like or +1 posts, create groups, and chat with friends. What really sets Google+ apart from Facebook on this front, however, is integration with existing Google services like Google Voice to allow for much more.
What more could a social networking have you may ask? Well, Integrated voice/video through a feature called Hangout. You can set up a Hangout with a specific Circle, say friends, and then have your friends join you in a video chat which is also accompanied by instant messaging chat as well to allow you to easily sends links to those who you are chatting with. One interesting feature with the Hangout feature is the apparent ability to collectively watch Youtube videos with those you're video-chatting with. I tried this Hangout feature with a couple friends of mine and it works fantastically, one nice touch is when you're chatting with more than one friend the main video automatically switches to the friend that is currently speaking. I did attempt the group Youtube viewing feature but disappointingly either the feature is currently disabled or me and my friends simply could not get it to work.

 Now that I actually consider it, Google+ offers competition to not only Facebook but Skype as well with it's integrated video chat feature. As one of my friends brought up the seamless integration into the social network itself brings great ease when it comes to video chatting because you just need to have the person who you want to chat with in one of your Circles rather than having to separately download and own the Skype application and have to hunt down their screen name.

Overall I'd have to say that both Facebook and Skype should definitely be nervous at Google's true entry into social networking. Google+ is absolutely fantastic as it is right now, but the fact that it is was literally just released as a beta means there is potential for future changes and additions allowing for the possibility for even more killer features.

If you've had the opportunity to experience Google+, what are your thoughts?