Anyone remember Google Buzz or Google Wave? They were the failed attempts by Google to rival Facebook in the social networking world. 

Yesterday (28 June 2011) Google launched its latest effort – Google +. It works a lot like Facebook but is more intimate, as participation is by invitation only.

Google hopes that this will convince people to sign up to yet another social network.

Unlike Facebook and other similar sites, Google + allows people to share updates and photos with smaller groups of people instead of all their online ‘friends’ or the whole web. 

A circles function will allow people to choose who will see their updates. The idea is that Google + will reflect relationships people have with their friends in the real world – a small group of  colleagues, close friends and family rather than online ‘friends’ who can run into the hundreds.

Nevertheless, Google is in the unenviable position of playing catch-up with a service that dominates the market. In May 2011, Facebook had 157.2 million visits with users spending an average of 375 minutes, while Google users spent 231 minutes.

These figures will be of interest to advertisers and online marketers, especially as more people turn to social networking sites for recommendations rather than asking Google.

Posted by

Neil Turner