Four Differences Between Google+ and Facebook

For many Facebook users, particularly the casual ones, the idea of starting over on an entirely new social network seems a daunting one.  For some, this isn’t such a bad thing; Robert Scoble of Rackspace recently explained why most people won’t switch to Google+ and why he’s thrilled about that.  For now, Google+ is a haven for “Silicon Valley geeks,” a place unlikely to welcome hordes of pre-teen Justin Bieber fans and tech novices like parents and grandparents, at least for a while.

Now, we’re not making value judgments as to which of the two is superior; the jury’s still out on that and will likely be so for some time.  If you’re playing with Google’s latest toy, however, here are a few things you need to know:

1. Circles:  Facebook is mostly a binary affair:  there are users who are your friends, and there are users who are not.  It’s certainly possible in Facebook to create groups of your friends, but it’s not nearly as easy to manage them as it is in Google+.  Got something you only want to share with your co-workers?  Create a circle called “co-workers,” and anything you post there will be visible strictly by that group.  Want to share photos of your beach vacation with friends and family?  Post those photos in the “friends” and “family” circles, and you needn’t worry about your boss seeing you acting out on the beach.  Some tend to think of the circles’ architecture as “tedious,” and perhaps it is, but they’re not without their advantages.
2. Hangouts:  Until very recently, Facebook chat was restricted to text.  Two weeks ago, however, Facebook rolled out its new video chat service.  Perhaps this was in response to Google+’s Hangout feature, which allows multiple users to video chat at the same time.  For Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, these two chat services really aren’t competing with one another: Arrington finds Facebook better for one-on-one chats and Hangout better for group chats.
3. Photo tagging:  Both social media platforms require users to opt out rather than in when it comes to photo tagging.  Perhaps mindful of the criticisms of Facebook’s controversial facial-recognition software, Google is waiting to release its own facial recognition feature until it can make sure it’s protecting Google+ users.
4. Gender:  In Facebook, you’re either male or female.  Businessinsider.com recently noted that Google+ allows you to opt for “other.”

If you’re thinking about switching your social network, or adding another one, this should be enough to get you started.  If you need help finding a developer for your Android app idea, fill out our quote request form or send me an e-mail and we’ll get you three free app development quotes.