So I’m about a week into using Google+ and I have to admit that I’m a big fan, bordering on fanboidom. While everything is not perfect with the service, there is a whole lot that I really like so far.
I really dig the design and UI. The main Stream page is very simple and straightforward, and while they have a little bit by way of bells and whistles, it feels extremely clean. The interface to create and adjust your Circles is brilliant. The way pictures are displayed in the stream is great and the shadowbox presentation of zooming in on photos is really nice and polished.
Circles, the heart and soul of Google+, is really awesome. The way Circles works makes it so easy to organize your friends, acquaintances, and people you just want to follow. In regard to Circles I really like the ability to click through my different Circles to see what’s in the Stream for each of the individual Circles.
I think the biggest thing that has me so high on Google+ right now is the people and the content. If find a lot more interesting stuff and meatier posts from the people that I’m following on G+ than I usually find on Facebook. I think FB’s start as providing status updates set the tone for generally short posts. G+ posts allow much more for a little bit longer posts, and almost have the feel of short blog posts.
Another huge part of my liking the service is the ability to follow a good deal of the Google team that is continuing to build and refine the service, and having some direct contact with with some of them, I can honestly say that they are listening to the feedback they’re getting.
So now a couple of things that I don’t like. Hopefully the first will be taken care of through time and that I’d like to have more of my friends on the service. The second thing is that I’d really like to have the ability to filter and group circles into my default Stream as I’d like. Not a huge thing given the ability to click your different Circle’s streams, but for me the fewer the clicks the better.
Obviously, it’s still very early in G+’s life, so we’ll have to see how things change over time. As more people gain access, it’s sure to change the feel and tone of the community, for better or for worse. Also, the Google team is still working to incorporate new functionality and refine the bugs that are found all the time. I’ll just have to see how things develop in the long run.
