Many of you know that I’m pretty much a tech-geek. Not only do I enjoy video games, I’ve been interested in technology in general for as long as I can remember. Recently, the topic of social networking has been on my mind. On top of my personal presence, I’ve been wondering what type of presence our churches should have online. Aside from that, what do you all think about this new social network, Google Plus?
Currently, G+ is still in “beta,” so it is not completely open to anyone and everyone. Although, I do have 150 invitations I can send out. If you want one, let me know. This makes it different, right of the bat, from Facebook and Twitter. However, after several weeks checking this out, I’m ready to share some thoughts and also hear yours.
First of all, I find myself not using it hardly at all. The main reason for this is that I do not have hardly any friends also using it. Currently, I use Facebook for all my friend and family things (more personal), and I use Twitter for connecting with everyone else. G+, though, has not found a place yet. I have not found a use for it in my daily routine, other than asking other G+ users why they use it.
Secondly, it is different than Facebook and Twitter in its purpose and function. In a way, it is almost a hybrid of certain aspects of both. You are able to share things with anyone or within a specific “circle” of friends. On top of that, it is up to you to create these circles. So, it requires more setup and maintenance than Facebook or Twitter.
Thirdly, the web experience and the smartphone experience are different. There are video conferencing “hangouts” on the web, and there are chat “huddles” on the smartphone app. Neither are available on the opposite platform. Because of that, I don’t know where to go more often. I end up having to use both, which is a bit annoying, because if I only use one, I will miss certain things not available on that platform.
Finally, it seems that G+ is really focused on the sharing aspect of social media. I find myself not really sharing things much on social media. Honestly, I have nothing against it, but I do not find myself doing that very often. Maybe it is because I just have a more critical eye, and I don’t think others would really be interested in what I’m reading/watching. Maybe I just think I will bug all my followers/friends I I were sharing things all the time. Either way, G+ does seem great for sharing, if you are into that sort of thing.
Will I use G+ more in the future? I honestly don’t know yet. I do see some potential, maybe even for connecting with ministry teams or specific circles, but I know that for it to work at its maximum potential, more people need to be using it. Until that point, I will continue using Facebook and Twitter.
Steve Cullum 
Steve,
It would be cool if you could explain the relationship between G+ and Picaso. I was trying to create a Picaso account yesterday and I ended up creating a G+ profile. I can see profiles of other friends in G+, but can’t post anything. So if you have an extra G+ account to give away, I would like to experiment. Thanks.
That is one thing I am still learning, actually. I don’t use Picaso, but I believe they are trying to meld the two together, similar to Facebook photos.
I sent you an invite to your email. If you don’t get it, let me know.
As you wrote this 2 1/2 years ago, what are your thoughts on Google+ now? Looks like you contribute very little to it. I personally feel that Google+ is better than Facebook, but rarely use it for the same reason you mentioned 30 months ago… very few friends and family use it. And despite Google’s attempts to integrate it into our every day lives, I’ve seen very little increase in users. Sad, because it is a better product. The G+ app on the iPhone loads in a second, while Facebook, after usually crashing the first time, takes anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute to get to a point where I can read any posts.