Google+

Techies and early adopters are aware Google recently launched Google+, a social networking app whose main intent seems to be dethroning Facebook, about which I'm ALL in favor.  Occasional Readers of EIP know I'm not a fan of I hate Facebook.  My active dislike is part Groucho Marx (i.e., "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member."), part reluctance to "follow the crowd," but is mostly about personal experience.  I "did" Facebook for three months or so but dropped out because of all the inane shit I was bombarded with... stuff I had no interest in and ultimately resented enough to cash it all in (WTF is this "poking" shit, anyway?).  Which is to say:  I quit.

Enter Google+.  I got an invite to join the app today and I did so.  I'm not against social networking per se, partial evidence bein' my love of Twitter, and I signed up for Google+ in the hopes the good things I heard about the app will make it a much better experience than Facebook.  The WSJ had an article on Google+ yesterday Thursday, which included this video:

The article also went on to say these things:

... deliver a better service. Adopting a new social network could prove similar to adopting a new email address: Many will try it out, but to keep using it, they have got to be given good reason. That Gmail offered significantly more storage space than typical Web mail meant millions were willing to make the switch. Similarly, Google+ offers upgrades on what many perceive to be Facebook's shortcomings.

For starters, Google+ gives users a handy way to organize their social contacts into different "circles"—friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.—with which they can share appropriate things. Though Facebook now offers the option to create "Groups," users broadcast their information to everyone by default.

Google+ also offers group video chats. That is why Facebook's announcement of one-on-one video on Wednesday seemed to fall short. Facebook has yet to introduce group video chat.

The biggest hurdle for Google+ is getting users, of course. But it is integrating the service with Gmail, which already has 240 million unique users world-wide, according to comScore. Meanwhile, the user experience on Facebook is a victim of the site's success. Users have accumulated so many online "friends" it can be difficult to organize them. And users often feel assaulted by too much or irrelevant social information, like Zynga game updates. Ultimately, Google+ is a chance for social networkers to start over.

Yep... I like the chance to start over.  It's gonna take me some time to learn G+, but there are aspects of the app I love already... specifically the "sparks" function, which provides you with user-defined blurbs and articles from all over these inner-tubes.  I defined cigars, craft beer, and single malt scotch as my initial interests and received some really cool stuff I would have missed otherwise.  Facebook wasn't ever that nice to me.  So far, so good.