Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Google+ Users Prefer it to Facebook

A poll of 1,000 Google+ users suggests Google+ users, at least, are looking for an alternative to Facebook. The poll found that 67 percent of Google+ users prefer it to Facebook.

The results do not necessarily suggest people will stop using Facebook; only that Google+ early adopters do prefer Google+. Read more

That isn't hard to believe. The Google+ interface is clean, simple and uncluttered. But the main thing is that it allows people to create "Circles" of freinds, family, acquaintances and work or hobby associations that actually make sense. It has never made sense to some of us that all Facebook updates are broadcast to all "friends."

A reasonable expectation for Google would be that growing numbers of people start to use Google+ for new social activities, without abandoning Facebook entirely. An application with clear network effects, which is what Facebook is, is tough to abandon once the scale effects kick in.

The other issue is that some users won't want to make drastic changes of habit until they are fairly convinced Google+ will survive. Not all products Google launches succeed, and some users might be wary of investing too much time in Google+ until it is a "survivor." Read more here.

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