Google+

I have always said that while Facebook might be the first major social network, it wouldn’t be the last. I originally joined Facebook in 2005 while studying abroad, because I wanted a convenient way to reconnect with my friends at home. I quickly discovered the ‘cool’ factor of Facebook – it was under the radar, only my peers had access and there were no gimmicks…it was just simple social networking.

However these days – my grandma and my 13 year old cousin are my friends on Facebook, the platform is saturated with ads targeted directly towards my information and there are a ton of privacy concerns. Even though right now it’s hot, Facebook is slowly losing its cool factor.

Well, hello Google+!

Google is developing a new network, Google+, that hopes to rival the popularity of Facebook. It makes sense, right? They are the leaders of search, emails, ads and office software – why wouldn’t they combine their different strengths into one major operation? For the moment, this new platform is in Beta version and only those invited can participate. While I am still searching for that invite, a la the Buzz era, I am excited to see where this network goes. It has a tough road ahead, but Google is just the company who may be able to pull it off.