Google is going right after the leader in social media, Facebook, with their new product Google+. Facebook now has another reason to keep Google in their sights.  Google has made previous weak attempts to enter into the social media arena, and has yet to score. Previous attempts have been either through acquiring technology, or copying others, and this is little different. But, Google is showing again that with a big enough bank roll you don't need creativity, or vision....just copy others.

The new concept is somewhat impressive, but mostly an attempt by Google improving Facebook's concept. Rather than connecting with all of your friends all the time, the new website will allow users to create groups or "Circles" allowing them to communicate only with desired types of people at desired times.  Users will be more encouraged to share, knowing that not all of their friends will be able to view through improved privacy control.  Through Circles, users can create separate groups and categorize their friends by hobbies, clubs/organizations, work, or interests.

The new interaction makes sense to those of us wishing to connect through a different interface for different social "circles" such as work, family, friends, and compadraes all at different times. Google capitalizes on Facebook's strengths, and corrects their weakness with google privacy options.  According to Google's official blog posting, the blogger hinted at Facebook's style of social network as being  'sloppy, scary, and insensitive' to their users.  Good thing Google pointed out these flaws. One has to wonder if Google is getting into movie ratings next. Google's vision is to rectify those flaws and provide a more organized social networking platform.

Google+ customizations are flexible, and give users freedom  to share their location, content , and friends within Circles.  Setting up Circles require simpler steps and less click with simple drag and drop options.  The potential to integrate all of Google's website services such as Gmail, Picasa, YouTube, and Google Maps offer major advantages for Google+.  A platform can be setup where functions can be consistent throughout the user's Google+ experience. Google+ plans to start with basic features such as sharing photos, messaging, and connecting users.  On top of that, some of the unique features come into play such as Streams, Sparks, Hangouts, and +1.

Streams:  The feature will allow news feeds to come into your account and allow users to select which of their Circle of friends can view the information.  This prevents blasting out to all your friends, giving you full control of who can view.  The +1 function is also integrated in acting like a Facebook 'Like.'

Sparks:  Utilizing Google's greatest strength, users can do online searches and link them to share with Circle of friends.  The Sparks function brings related content to your account, allowing you to share.

Hangouts:  One of the coolest features on Google+, Hangouts allow users to hold video chats with up to 10 friends.  The video chatting shows all users at the same time and places the loudest speaker in the center of the screen.

Google+ is steering in the right directions, but many features are still needed to separate this social network from the dominant Facebook.  One area could be online search in social community networks.  Their challenge is winning away loyal Facebook users by filling a void in their social network experience.  Facebook does not appear to be sweating, but will no doubt keep an eye on a potential threat in the near future. 

Google+ is currently in beta version and will be made public in the coming months.  Users can only download the Android app and be signed on by invitation only. I for one am only mildly impressed that millions of dollars can create not more than an improved version of several other online media. The trend we're now seeing is be big and gain market share - if you're a small guy get ready to be copied and kicked to the curb. Now if only we had more lawyers to solve this problem...yea, that's the ticket.