Right now it’s basically another Facebook with better features. The social grouping is better, the messaging is better, and the video conferencing is better, but each of those can already be found in good enough quality on Facebook. Unfortunately, better messaging isn’t going to get Joe Average to sit down in front of his computer and try something new. Circles are great, but they aren't going to get Joanne Normal to dump her 300+ strong social network.
If Google+ is going to make waves (sigh), it has to bring something to the table that no one else has. It has to provide something no one else can, and I think that means being truer to its name.
We all know the history. Google began as a search company. Soon it started offering other free services—Gmail, News, Picasa, Reader, etc. Most of these are provided via feeds, which is exactly the same format social networks use to provide status updates from friends. Google Reader lists updates from the sites I'm interested in. Gmail gives me a list of all my email conversations. News, Blogger, and YouTube subscriptions are all feeds.
What G+ should become is something Google has needed for a long time now: one place that brings all these feeds from these auxiliary services together. It should become the + in G+.
My stream should include everything Google is already gathering for me across a dozen different websites. It should then allow me to reply, comment, reshare, forward, and +1 where appropriate.
This would do a few very good things:
The most important is that it would instantly fill the streams of every user, new or old, with items that are actually interesting to him or her. Right now, barren feeds aren't a problem for those of us who've found engaging people to follow, but we had to spend a lot of time searching and culling. Most people can't or simply don't want to go through that hassle. With each update, Google+ has offered new ways to find interesting posts, but so far it hasn't been enough.
Imagine logging into Google+ for the very first time and discovering every item from your YouTube subscriptions, every suggested news item, every one of your friends' checkins, all your Reader items, and more, waiting for you. Layman or not, you'd have a really good reason to come back.
It would also make sharing easier and more effective. In my experience, friends have been more inclined to hit the reshare, like, and +1 buttons when they're actually visiting those respective social networks, probably because they're already in the mode. If I see an interesting news article while I'm already on G+, I'm more inclined to say, "My friends would enjoy this." More reshares and +1s make Google+ more active and give the company more of that social data they're craving.
It also gives Google a chance to make more suggestions. Now they'll be able to suggest new YouTube channels, news articles, Picasa users, and bloggers more openly and in a place where users will be more receptive. That will lead to even more immersion.
Of course these changes should be used to increase Google+’s social aspect without taking anything away. We should be able to share anything that can possibly be shared. I should be able to invite my friends to the places and events I'm reading about. If I +1 a photo I like in my Picasa feed, the people in my circles should know (if my privacy settings allow).
And it's important that users are able to easily control their feeds, which could become very busy very easily. They should be able to stop and filter them.
In my opinion, Google should incorporate incoming items from the following Google services:
- Gmail - Let me read, reply to, and forward emails from within G+
- YouTube - Show new videos and suggest video channels based on my subscriptions
- Picasa - Show and suggest photos based on my +1s
- Games - Nothing new, but we all know improved gaming is coming to Google. + should let me play and get updates from all of Google's games
- Places - friend location updates, pinging, nearby events, and deals from local businesses
- News - News subscription items and suggestions
- Calendar - Events and invitations
- Blogger - Blog subscription updates and suggestions
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