The Lowdown on Google+

---by Kim Komando 7/5/2011

Q. I saw the story about Google+ in your News of the Day newsletter. I was thinking of trying it out. How is it different than Facebook? Will it have the same privacy concerns?
-Ned from Bend, OR, listens to my national radio show on KBND 1110 AM

A. Facebook's story certainly is amazing. Mark Zuckerberg started the site in his Harvard dorm room less than a decade ago. It started out serving the Harvard campus. Today, it boasts about 750 million users all across the world. And by some estimates, it is valued at $70 billion.

Facebook wasn't the first social-networking site. But it certainly is the most popular one, the one to follow. It seems that everybody uses the site. So, you can't blame other companies for wanting a piece of the action.

Google has dominated the search market for a decade. Android is slowly taking over the mobile market. Chrome is taking over the browser market. Social networking is the one place Google can't seem to win. Its attempts so far haven't been that successful.

The Orkut service it launched in 2004 is only popular in India and Brazil. A year ago it launched Google Buzz, which had some privacy problems. Even after the problems were largely fixed, no one really used it.

Well, Google is taking another stab at social networking with Google+. And it's off to a good start.

Google maintains that Google+ a social-sharing site, not social networking. However, that's mostly just semantics. It works much like other social networks.

For now, Google+ is available by invitation only. Google is keeping a tight rein on how many people join. It's already suspended the invitation system once due to high demand. Invitations are even being sold on eBay!

So you probably won't be able to use Google+ for a while. However, you may have already noticed some visual changes to Google's other services. These are in anticipation of Google+'s full launch.

Google's top link bar now has a black background, for example. This is to draw more attention to that area. Eventually, you'll see a new "+You" link up there. It will also highlight a red notification area for Google+ updates.

Clicking the +You link will take you to the Google+ main screen. This area lets you do much of what you can on Facebook. You can create status updates, share links and post photos.

It will also show you updates from others via the Stream. The Stream is similar to Facebook's News Feed. However, it has more space for displaying media.

The real difference is how Google+ handles friends. It doesn't have a Facebook-style "friend" system. In fact, it works more like Twitter. Speaking of which, come follow me on Twitter.

When you first start out on Google+, everything you post is public. Anyone on the Internet can read it. In that way, it's just like Twitter.

Where Google+ differs is a system called Circles. A circle is a group of people you create. This is similar to Facebook's Groups, but easier and far more useful.

Creating a circle is as simple as dragging and dropping friends' pictures. Then you just give the circle a name. You can create any number of circles for different groups of friends.

For example, you can create a circle for work friends. You can have one for college friends. One friend can be part of multiple circles.

Once you have circles created, things get interesting. Let's say you want to post a status update. You can post it to a single circle, like Family. Then, only your family members will see that post.

You can also post to multiple circles, if you wish. Google+ will prompt you to select circles for every post. That means it's much harder to post something publicly accidentally.

You can filter your Stream by circle as well. What if you only want to see posts from work friends? Just click on your Work Friends circle.

Unlike Facebook, you don't need permission to add people to circles. You could even create a circle of random strangers and read their posts. This really isn't as scary as it sounds, though.

The posts you see will only be public posts. You won't see their private posts unless they add you to a circle.

This all sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is. Let's try using an example. We'll make up two Google+ users: Bob and Frank.

Bob and Frank were roommates in college. So Bob adds Frank to a circle called College Friends. Frank, however, doesn't have fond memories of Bob. So Frank doesn't add Bob to any circle.

One day, Frank posts two status updates. One is a public update for everyone to read. The other is an update to his Work Friends circle.

Bob will see Frank's public update appear in his College Friends Stream. However, he won't see Frank's other update. That one only goes to Frank's work friends.

Now, suppose Bob posts a private status update to his College Friends circle. Then he posts a public status update. The private update will appear in Frank's general Stream.

However, Frank won't see Bob's public update. That's because Bob isn't part of any of Frank's circles. Sadly, he really doesn't care what Bob has to say.

Now, this could potentially lead to hurt feelings. It doesn't help that, by default, Circles are visible to the public. That means you can see who is in anyone's Circles. Fortunately you can change this. Go to the profile page and click the Edit button. Then click on Circles and uncheck Show People in my Circles.

Overall, the Circles system could work very well. However, it also has the potential to be abused. Someone could harass you by sending you posts all the time. Google will likely put a blocking system in place.

Circles isn't all Google+ has to offer. Google+ has several other interesting features as well. Hangouts, for example, is quickly gaining acclaim. It competes directly with Skype's group video chat system.

Unlike Skype's group video chat, however, Hangouts is free. You can quickly set up video chat rooms with your circles. You can share links, chat and view YouTube videos together.

It supports chats with over 6 people. There is a large main window for easy viewing. The person who is talking at the moment shows up there.

Google+ also has a feature called Sparks. These are lists of things that interest you. You can see online content related to these interests. Then you can easily share them with others.

Google+ integrates other Google services as well. For example, it will pull photos from Picasa. You'll be able to browse photos of you and your circle friends.

Video sharing will be supplied via YouTube, of course. Google+ also integrates Google's +1 system. This is Google's answer to Facebook's Like button.

Google+ will also incorporate Google Buzz. Buzz now seems to function more like Twitter. Only time will tell how it will be fully integrated.

Google isn't just releasing Google+ on the computer. A Google+ app is available for Android smartphones and tablets. Versions for other gadgets are likely in the works.

The Google+ app combines most of Google's services. You'll find Google+, Gmail, Talk, Calendar and more. It helps integrate them all like never before.

Overall, it seems like Google is trying to best every social service out there. It looks like it's made a good start. There are a few problems, however.

The first problem is getting people to use Google+. As I said, everyone is already on Facebook. Using two social networks can be a hassle. Although, I should note that Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame already has a Google+ account.

If you do join Google+, you have to convince your friends and family to join as well. Otherwise, there's no point. So, that's roadblock number one.

Now, some people will join just because Google+ isn't Facebook. They might want a service that not everyone is using. Maybe they're just tired of Facebook's constant privacy problems.

That's going to be roadblock number two for Google+. It has to show that it won't repeat Facebook's privacy mistakes. Unfortunately, as with the Buzz launch, Google has already gotten in trouble. And many people think Google already knows too much about its users.

I mentioned before that Google has Circles visibility turned on by default. That can create awkward moments. Someone might see you aren't sharing with them when they're sharing with you.

However, there's a bigger problem. It has to do with Google's sharing system. Basically, you can share anything on Google+. That includes sharing others' private posts.

Let's look at an example using Bob and Frank again. Remember, Frank hasn't included Bob in any of his circles. Bob can't see anything Frank posts privately.

Say, however, Frank posts a nostalgic picture to a circle of college friends. Now one of those friends, Tim, thinks it's a cool picture. He shares it with his circle of college friends, including Bob.

Bob now has the picture Frank posted privately. He could then turn around and share that with anyone. In no time, the picture could be all over Google+.

There is a way around this, of course. You can choose to disable re-sharing when you post something. However, this has to be done for every post. And the option isn't immediately obvious.

Additionally, there is no way to make that the default sharing option. Finally, once you share something, you can't modify the sharing options. In other words, you're stuck.

Hopefully, Google will fix this before the service becomes fully available. It seems like it should be a no-brainer. Who knows what other privacy snafus are lurking in Google+?

As I said, Google+ isn't open to everyone yet. Google is doing its usual invite-only system for now. That should give it a chance to work out some kinks before full launch. Let's hope it does so.

It's very hard to do anything online that doesn't include Google. Learn everything you can about how it works. That can help make your surfing a safer, more pleasant experience:

• Google searches are great for finding information. However, there are some things you should never type into Google. Learn what those are and why.
• Your Google account stores a lot of information about you. You want to enable the strongest security possible. Find out how to activate Google's new security features.
• The amount of information Google stores can be scary. However, sometimes that information can produce awesome results. Click here to download one of my favorite programs.