Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter: Where Will You Be In One Year’s Time?

Google’s new social networking serviceGoogle Plus has been off to a good start, thanks to Google’s determination and the invite only system. There has been lots of talk about the growth of Google Plus, and some sites did not fail to mention that the networks growth is a lot faster than that of Facebook’s or Twitter’s in their starting years. Then again, neither site had the backing of a multi-billion Dollar company in their starting years.

Some users on the other hand face a dilemma now with the rise of Google Plus: Time. Most users have accounts on Facebook and Twitter, which they spend some time on. Some may have the time to add a third social networking site to that list, others like me do not have the time to maintain three networking sites.

What will those users do? Will they use cross-posting tools to post their messages on all three sites, will they ditch one of the sites, or will they reduce other activities to spend time on all three sites?

If you look at the media coverage, you might think that it is all about a showdown between Google Plus and Facebook, and that Twitter is just another bystander. But is that really true? If you look at Google Plus, you will notice that the service is offering most, if not all, of the features of Twitter. You can follow and be followed, post public messages or messages to one or multiple recipients. Plus, there are not any size limitations and additional features like hangouts available.

Facebook on the other hand has a lot to offer that Google Plus is not currently. Look at games and apps for instance, which is surely one of the main reasons for the social networking site’s success.

As a webmaster, I have to use all three services, because it affects my business. Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search services are putting more weight on social metrics than ever before, and that is going to increase in the future. If you are not part of it, your site or service will be old news eventually.

This leads back to the title: Are you using social networking sites currently? If so, do you have plans to change the sites that you are using? Will you include Google Plus in your networking activities?

Google+ population doubles to 20 million members in a week

According to ComScore's latest report, Google+ now has over 20 million users, just three weeks since its launch. The member base has doubled in the week gone by since Google CEO, Larry Page announced the 10 million member milestone for the fledgling social networking site.

“It is definitely the fastest ascent to 20 million visitors that I can think of,” said Andrew Lipsman, ComScore’s vice president of industry analysis, speaking to the Los Angeles Times.

The rapid growth of Google+ in its field trial period is certainly raising eyebrows the world over, tasked with taking on the social networking giant – Facebook – which has more than 750 million members, hundreds of millions of members that log in daily. Google+ shows some serious promise however, with its different interface, numerous communication avenues and grouping methods considered a refreshing change from Facebook’s now boring yet subtly evolving layout.

In related news, Google has reportedly acquired Fridge, a start-up social networking site for groups, with photo-sharing and event-based features. Google will undoubtedly be using Fridge’s experience in online group communication, offering more than Circles, Sparks, Hangouts, and Huddle. Co-founder of Fridge, Austin Chang, commented on the deal, speaking to AllThingsD: "Fridge will be shutting down, but the core tenets will stay on in Google+."