5.5 Reasons why facebook is toast

I have been using G+ now for at least a week. And as soon as I started using it I knew this was going to change things.

More people are now joining and a response I hear quite often is. Well there's nobody I know here, and as long as everybody I know is on twitter/facebook I won't be moving to G+. That's fine with me, that means that the more I learn as fast as possible, the more I will have an advantage over my competition.

So, why do I think with the introduction of G+ facebook is toast

1. Intuitive design
Google has made G+ very intuitive to use. You don't need a manual to start using it. For some people who need manuals before they start doing something this is a drawback. But for anyone who has experience with extensive use and design of websites G+ set a new standard. This in comparison to facebook wehere you don't know where or what you're posting. Walls, posts, am I posting as myself or as a the Business page I made. facebook is very contra intuitive.

2. Granularity in sharing

The circles option in Google allows you to decide who you share what with. People go on and on about how it works. But basically it's like e-mail. You can decide to send one person a message (who doesn't even need to be in a circle if you have gmail) or to a special group you have created. Also you can follow anyone and then follow the people they have in their circles. It is an adventure in social discovery and social search. A social white pages so to say.

3. Integration of other value adding services

Google is search, online photo's, documents, video, voice, labs, gmail, apps, enterprise, calendar, reader, translate, news, Android and more. G+ is showing that Google is integrating these services seamlessly into G+. Adding photos via Picasa is real easy, something I never really did, because I find it a pain to do. With G+ no more. G+ therefore is also more than a social network. It is your complete online stop for everything.

4. All sorts of excellently executed chat options A special mention should be made of integration of chat. You can comment on posts, you can chat and you can Hangout. I was expecially delighted by the seamless way Hangouts work. It is actuall just a few clicks and you're talking with someone. Now these are of course existing things, but G+ just does them better than others.

5. Google and G+ are accessible
Google ate its' own dogfood for a year for G+ and it shows. The engineers and executives working on G+ talk about about developments and are constantly tweaking and tuning. They also ask for constant feedback. Of course not everything is solved and not every suggestion is executed, but it shows the commitment of Google to make G+ a success.

5.5 Just for fun
.5 Reason .5 is because I really hate these list type articles. But the last half reason why facebook is toast is that G+ is fun! It is not only the tool, it is all of the possibilities it offers. In the social sphere, in the business sphere, in the school sphere, in the organisational/enterprise sphere G+ opens up a wealth of possibilities. facebook is toast, because G+ goes wider and deeper than just being a social network.