(Image source: http://www.tweetfbplus.com/)
I started this as a response to an article I read on webpronews.com written by Chris Richardson on the “MySpacing of Facebook”. It turned into a bit of a rant, so I thought I’d share it with the rest of you. Enjoy.
I’ve been toying around with G+ since almost the beginning. It’s very intuitive for people who are already used to Facebook or Twitter. The circles idea, however, is not an original or unique idea. I believe it was Foursquare that started it, but Facebook has it as well. Many people may not realize it, but they can click the little padlock icon as they are writing their post to limit the audience.
I read an article the other day that I feel put it best. In summary it stated that Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are good for their unique audiences, and that they shouldn’t even be in a “competition”. Facebook’s “Business Pages” are great for a business to engage their audience and maintain transparency, while their personal side is hands-down a great interface for connecting with pretty much anyone. Twitter is great for those that have something quick to share several times a day. Twitter is also good for businesses to track what consumers are saying about their product or service. Google has a vast assortment of tools that are already being used by people worldwide, business and personal. They have however, already set the stage with Google+, making it untrustworthy and ultimately non-useful for businesses with their recent debacle with the naming standards.
Now, let’s look at another component here: what I call the “Confused User Principle”. There are so many choices out there for users to connect and share information with others, that they don’t know what belongs where. In my friend Matthew Vermillion’s recent article “One Too Many Social Networks”, he discusses the confusion of where to post what updates. This has led, predictably, to an overwhelming and redundant amount of duplicate messaging. I myself am guilty of this, and will still probably post a link to this article on my personal Facebook, my Facebook Page, Twitter, and Google+.
I compare Facebook to McDonalds, in that people love to complain about them, but when it comes down to it those same people will come back over and over again. Let me know your thoughts!