Google+: Awesome Features

As a Chicago PR Firm that is heavily immersed in the world of franchise social media, there’s nothing we enjoy more than discussing social media sites and explaining what each one has to offer.  The official social media site of Google, Google+, offers users a variety of features that a lot of other social media sites do not.   Google+ was created with the intention of utilizing all of the main features of some of Google’s top products including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Search, and Google Maps.  Let’s discuss a couple of Google+’s key features:

(1) Google+ Toolbar: Once you set up an account with Google you are signed into Google and have access to the Google+ toolbar.  The toolbar appears on top of any Google service you might be using. The toolbar gives you instant access to any of Google's services, which of course includes Google+.  

(2) Stream: Similar to Facebook's news feed, Google+'s stream is a central location for all the content that is shared by people you are connected with through Google+.  All sorts of information can be found on stream like videos, links, images, and maps.  

(3) Hangout: The hangout feature is for live social networking and gives you the ability to connect with people who are online at the moment through instant messaging.  You also have the option of connecting live through video chat or doing a group conversation as well. 

(4) +1: Have you been noticing little +1's all over the place yet?  Google+ has popularized the +1.  The +1 gives your stamp of approval on something you see on the Internet.  Want to give support to a local business?  Give them a +1 to show your stamp of approval.  It reminds us a bit of the "Pin it" button for Pinterest as it acts similarly, but we like the little feature.

(5) Circle: Circles are a way that you categorize and essentially, organize your social contacts.  This might just be our favorite Google+ feature.  Circles give users the ability to group their contacts into various circles such as family, colleagues, friends, or hobby.  Here's the best part: You can share with each group different information.  Perhaps there's something you only want to share with your hobby circle that you don't want to share with your colleagues.  That's okay, having separated your contacts into different circles makes it easy.  You can also change what each circle can see when looking at your personal profile.  Share what you want with who you want to share it with.

(6) Sparks: Sparks are meant to show areas of interest.  Google+ gives users a wide variety of topics to choose from and as you see things you are interested in you can simply add them to your Google+ profile.  If you decide you want to remove a spark topic later, you can simply delete it by subtracting it. Users have the ability to share sparks with others in their circles.

Not all social media is created equal.  While most sites have similar features, some sites really do offer the user a little something out of the ordinary.  We love talking social media, if you have comments or questions feel free to comment below or contact us.