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These days, it seems like we’ve got an excess of ways to connect with one another in the virtual world — we can follow each other on Tumblr and Twitter, have face-to-face conversations from opposite sides of the planet via Skype, and share photos on Flickr. And of course, there’s Facebook – the social networking site. But what is the deal with this new Google+? It looks like fun, but if you already use Facebook or Twitter, why would you want to invest time and effort in creating yet another social network? 

Google+ is a project that Google has been working on in secrecy for nearly a year, until its official announcement on April 28, 2011. It’s currently in an invite-only testing phase, which makes the thought of owning an account feel like an exclusive privilege, quite reminiscent of all that Gmail hype from back in the day. Google explains on its official blog that Plus is more than just another social network — it’s an extension of Google itself, that promises effective privacy settings and unique sharing controls that are supposed to better mimic real-life connections.

 

The main feature that sets Google+ apart from Facebook and Twitter is Google Circles. It lets you organize your connections by how you define your relationship with them: Friends, Family, Coworkers, etc. Through Circles, thoughts can be shared with people selectively, the way it typically happens in the real world. Let’s face it, your boss wouldn’t be the first person you run to to boast about how you actually spent your “sick” day…but your Circle of buddies might be amused.

Other Google+ features include Hangouts, which is basically an integrated video chat, Huddles, a new group messaging application, and Sparks, which automatically recommends interesting content – articles, videos, photos – to you based on your interests. If you use an Android, the Instant Upload feature automatically uploads photos you take on your phone directly to Google+.

Google has definitely got a strong feeling about its ideas of how social networking online should be …but it’s hard to say whether the world is ready to convert to Google+. Only time (and termination of invite-only status) will tell if Google has truly cracked the code to social networking bliss.