July 2011 – @drewmillikin

I was reminded of another reason why I’m on the Google+ bandwagon–the ability to control the content I see.

Facebook controls what I see in my news feed. I’m sure there’s some algorithm behind it, but it drives me nuts. My news feed isn’t populated with news from the people who I most want to hear from. Instead, it’s a bunch of one off’s that I’m not particularly interested in.

Facebook lists may be a solution to this, but frankly, I never took the time to go through my friends and sort them. I’ve completely forgotten how to do that now, and so it’s a lost cause.

With Google+, I’m able to control the content I see through Circles. Annoying people in my stream? Peace out. You’re now in an annoying person Circle.

That being said, there still isn’t a lot going on there, so it’s pretty boring. I find myself checking it multiple times a day without anything changing. If this continues, it’s really just a matter of time before this goes the way of Buzz and Wave. That would be too bad because Google+ works.

So far I’ve given a big +1 to Google+. Here are a few things that I really love about it, and I hope it catches on.

1. It’s clean. No real surprise here from the company that limits the words on their homepage to no more than 28 words. Google+ is clean. It looks sharp, and it looks crisp. I’m guessing that since Google has plenty of other areas to generate revenue, it won’t need to clutter the screen with ads either. That’s a total guess.

2. Circles. Where Facebook failed with its ~~groups~~ lists, Google succeeded with Circles. Perhaps it’s because it fits more naturally with the design and doesn’t feel forced, but I like the idea of separating contacts out into Circles. I especially like that people can be in more than one Circle.

3. It’s Google. I use GMail both personally and professionally. I use Google Reader as an RSS feeder. I use GChat all of the time. I use tons of Google products. An all-in-one that I’m sure will someday integrate all of those technologies, yes please.

4. Hangouts. You mean my brother in California and my parents in Illinois can video chat with my son all at the same time on a Saturday morning? Yes please.

5. “Don’t Be Evil” Google’s motto. Now am I wary of relying on one company for everything? Yes. Do I really believe that Google isn’t capable of evil and won’t try to dominate the word and turn us all into GSlaves? Almost 100% yes. Almost. But it’s still better than what I think of Zuck’s motives with Facebook.

So I’m ready. Open the gates and let the people in. I am ready to jump ship. I just need a critical mass of friends whom I’m actually interested in getting updates about to join up as well. Right now, it’s a bit dull, frankly. Until then, I’ll be hanging out in some Circle waiting to be +1’d.