Google+ just peaked so hard

Yes. I meant the sexual innuendo in that title. But, mostly I was referencing one of my favorite shows: "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" when Dennis responds to his sister Dee's accusation that he "peaked in coolness" in high school.

"'Peaked,' Dee? Let me tell you something. I haven’t even begun to peak. And when I do peak, you’ll know. Because I’m going to peak so hard, that everybody in Philadelphia will feel it."

So, I recently join Google+ as previously addressed in another blog post, and I decided to analyze why I'm currently in a battle between Google+ and Facebook.

I read (why isn't that spelled "red?" I hate that it's read vs. read) an interesting article about what makes a sustainable social networking site? They came up with some nice parameters that I'm going to use to make my point:

1. The Social Network Needs To Be All-Inclusive - POINT: GOOGLE+
Granted, Google+ was a late majority or even a laggard to this whole social media movement, but they really conquered the whole let everyone into the system thing. Mind you, I actually miss the college-kids-only Facebook. But, obviously, if someone had told me that once I graduated college that I would no longer be on Facebook, I might have done one of the following three things: 1) Thrown a hissy fit 2) Taken seriously the whole you-should-change-your-.edu-web-email-thing-to-an-alumni-one thing 3) Actually considered attending my high school reunion. But, since it included everyone eventually, they redeemed themselves on this parameter. But there is something that can be said about pausing and making sure you get it right instead of doing it quickly and poorly.

2. Have A Good Feature Set - POINT: FACEBOOK
This one was a difficult decision for me. As of right now, I really like the fact that Google+ has the retro-feel of Facebook. Post a photo? Check. Post a video? Check. But, the real thing Google+ is missing has GOT to be the "wall" equivalent. I love the fact that I can mindless write on someone's wall for their birthday, when I find a political articles I think they will like, when I've just stalked all of their wedding photos and I want to mention how nice they looked. So, Facebook takes the edge with the wall alone. I know some people play "Farmville" and other odd apps on Facebook which some people love, but I've never been a participant ever since I read (or "red?") an article regarding how much of your privacy they steal when you sign up for them.

3. A Necessity To Visit Everyday - POINT: FACEBOOK
Right now, Facebook has the edge on this one. This is mainly because it has developed a habit in almost every member that they should check often. In fact, when polled, Facebook users said that:

48% of them use Facebook for 6 hours or more a week
22% of them use Facebook for 5-6 hours a week
19% of them use Facebook for 3-4 hours a week
7% of them use Facebook for 1-2 hours a week
4% of them use Facebook for less than 1 hour a week

With statistics like that, it's hard to deny that Facebook wins this category.

4. Privacy concerns - POINT: GOOGLE+
Some might be misled by Google+'s privacy policy. I tried to figure out how to explain why I like Google+'s better and I found an article that explains it better than I can: Facebook's privacy policy is 6,000 words long. Google has a privacy policy that's barely over 1,000 words long. While Google's policy is linked to other privacy policies, it wins in terms of clarity, using simple and clear language explaining how users should react to different problems and issues. Facebook has been heavily criticized for its clunky, hard-to-use privacy controls. Google+ is designed to make this challenge easier. "For us," said a Google vice president, "privacy isn't buried six panels deep." For Google+, that's a clear advantage.

5. Friend Groupings - POINT: GOOGLE+
Google+ really learned their lesson by case-studying Facebook's mistakes on that one. I love that I can immediately put work people in a work group and friends in a friends group and church friends in a church group. I can really target my posts this way. For instance, I'm not supposed to mention any sort of political talk when at work or while wearing any sort of work gear. It's not professional. But there are some things I really want to debate/talk to my friends with. So, I have to not say them on Facebook. But, on Google+, I can post it and only share the post with my non-work friends. It's great.

6. Interconnectivity - POINT: GOOGLE+
Once again, I knew what I thought about the difference, but found an article that supported my point much more: Google+ effectively combines the Facebook and Twitter social media programs into one, allowing users to have friends they can share with, and specific groups of friends they can cluster in circles, but they can also follow others, including celebrities or companies, like they can on Twitter.

Four out of six points ain't bad. Especially since Google+ just launched. Congrats, Google+. You're doing well.