Social Networking: Circles Sets Google+ Apart From Facebook

Carissa Drohan-Jennings, August 3rd 2011

Many people are wondering what will set Google+ apart from Facebook. Why would Facebook users choose to switch to another system? Or why would they use both systems when they do pretty much the same thing?

It’s my opinion that some users will make the switch simply because Google+ makes it easier to sort your contacts and control what content they see. The Circle tool, shown in the image above, lets users drag and drop connections into self made categories, making it easier to manage different kinds of relationships with a number of people.

I see great value in Google+’s Circles tool. As a member of Facebook I have received my fair share of friend requests from people that I am not that close with, each time I am faced with a dilemma, “Should I accept their request or ignore it?”

I’m a pretty open person, but to me Facebook has always seemed like a place to interact with close friends and family, a place to share photos of private get-togethers and events, and a place to share jokes, pokes and stories. Since there’s been little control over monitoring what my “friended” contacts see, I’ve just avoided adding them all together. However, I have always felt like I’m missing out on connecting with new people.

Google+ has solved my dilemma with their Circles feature. I am now able to connect with anyone, regardless of my relationship with them. Now I can interact differently with certain groups of individuals, while maintaining my privacy.

I believe that it is this functionality that will entice Facebook users to make the switch to Google+, or at the very least to maintain accounts on both systems.

Currently the Google+ platform is only accessible by invitation only, so if you are interested in gaining access, send me an email at carissa@landlordwebsoluitons.ca and I’ll invite you into the system to check it out.

Be sure to read our article series on Google+ to learn more about what it is and how landlords can use it to market their apartments.