Google+ Has Arrived!

Google’s new super-secret social project is finally being rolled out…to a select few, for now at least.

But wait to you hear what Google + has got under its hood; more than just a pretty face (and it is quite attractive, thank goodness), the new social project tries to address the gaps and missing pieces in the current social network paradigm.

Google +’s Impressive Design

Looks Aren’t Everything, but They Certainly Help

While Google isn’t exactly known for its focus on the aesthetics, Google + features a clean and attractive design as charming as any Apple product. Not a surprise, considering that Andy Hertzelf, referred to as “the original Mac guy”, was involved in the interface development. Alright, so it looks a little bit…OK, a lot like Facebook—but when it works, it works!

Circles

Circles seems to be Google +’s golden boy, attempting to succeed where Facebook failed with the burdensome and clunky Groups feature.

Google notes that our real-world relationships are rich and complex, and while other social media sites try to force users into an all-or-nothing approach, that is not how we lead our lives—you don’t want your grandmother seeing photos from your Friday night excursions, especially not when she posts embarrassing comments.

Circles is a fun and intuitive solution to this age old problem of censorship. With a click of a mouse, you can simply drag selected friends into different circle groups. You can easily create a College Friends circle, Family circle, Ultimate Frisbee Team circle, etc. and share content with only selected groups.

Sparks

Dubbed the “sharing engine”, rather than search engine, Sparks lets you easily find and share content that interests you. Type in an interest and Google will find what it reckons you’ll like, giving you a smorgasbord of blog posts, videos, links, images, etc. When something tickles your fancy, you can add it to an interests list or share it with Circles. You can also see what other people are talking about in a “featured interests” area, not unlike Twitter’s trending topics.

Huddle

Huddle is a group messaging app for Android, iphone, and SMS, offering an easy way to message and make plans with different Circles. Invite carnivore friends out for meat lover’s pizza, or invite your vegetarian friends to watch enviously!

Hangout

Hangout hopes to be a new kind of video chat that allows friends to simply bump into each other in the metaphorical sense. If your friend is hanging out and up for a chat, a “Join Hangout” icon appears, and if you’re chatting with a Circle, other folks in that circle get an offer to join the hangout, working for up to 10 people. It relies on a sweet sense of spontaneity.

What do you think about Google+ ? Does is stand a chance of becoming the new social world?