Is Google+ Finding Its Niche in Social Media?

FROM: http://www.theinfoboom.com/articles/is-google-finding-its-niche-in-social-media/

added by Rick Robinson on December 30, 2011

Google+ seems to be finding a distinct place in the social media constellation. The feature that stands out in positioning it is Circles, which allows users to categorize their social contacts. This sets it apart from Facebook, which essentially throws the user's entire social universe together in one big circle.

The capability of Circles has been enhanced by a new feature, the Circles volume slider, which lets users adjust each Circle (say, "coworkers" or "family") according to that group's desired prominence in that user's overall stream.

This may prove particularly useful for companies exploring the use of social media for CRM or other business purposes. And these firms will look to their IT professionals for implementation and usage guidance.

Macronetwork

And in the bigger picture, as reported by Josh Constine at TechCrunch, the growing capabilities of Circles are helping to define a place for Google+ in the social media environment. Constine argues that the four main social networks (in his count) fill four distinct roles:

• Twitter connects you with strangers, along lines of shared interests and following or being followed.
• Path connects you with your closest friends, with no "volume control" over their additions to your stream.
• Facebook connects you with your acquaintances overall, with each of them characterized individually as to what content you see from them.
• Google+ organizes acquaintances into groups, with "volume control" specified for each group (by the Circles volume slider).

This group-centric element of Google+ is what leads Constine to characterize it as a macronetwork. You could, for example, add thousands of people to an "industry" circle, but dial down its volume. Thus, you will only see the most noteworthy items from that stream, instead of being overwhelmed by its sheer volume.

Social Variety

The major social media networks could no doubt be characterized in differing ways, and commentators may differ as to which social networks qualify as "major." But the overall implication of Constine's piece is that we are steadily moving on from the simple linear picture of social media.

Thus, Google+ is not simply a rival to Facebook that must either overtake Facebook or be crushed by it. Like Twitter, it provides different features from Facebook. And Facebook cannot simply imitate those features. Users are accustomed to dealing with different social media in different ways, and they have different expectations from them.

This has particular significance for companies that are developing social media strategies. Firms can no longer assume that the future belongs to Facebook--or any one social media network. Yes, they need to be where their customers are. But the "macronetwork" flexibility built into Google's offering, classifying contacts into Circles of varying significance, makes it particularly suited to business needs.

Social media may be used in different ways by different working groups in a firm. But especially in small and midsized businesses (SMBs), knowing how to get the most out of social media will remain a task primarily for IT. So in the evolving multi-channel social ecosystem, IT professionals will therefore need to be conversant with all major channels and their features, including Google+ Circles and their volume sliders.