Google+ launched its service on June 28th with features similar to what Facebook and Twitter offer such as link sharing, post liking and link re-posting  . The big distinction Google+ and Facebook is its tight integration with Google search, Gmail and now photos and blogs.

Picasa (Acquired July 13th, 2004) will be re-branded to Google Photos and Blogger (Acquired February 2003) to Google Blogs.  It is not yet known how popular Google+ will become or how google plans to integrate these new features but it is very exciting to see Google in this space.

Considering what they have done with Gmail, Google maps, and Google Docs just to name a few – it is very exciting to see how this service will evolve.

Your thoughts?

[Via Mashable]

Michael Beltran

Born and raised Los Angeles CA, Michael loves all gadgets. Although his first love will always be his EVO sporting CyanogenMod7, he can still find room in his heart (and credit card) to embrace the iTech too. He is the expert in all things jailbreak and root. Follow Michael on Twitter | Tumblr | Facebook

You can choose to share publicly with the world or privately to a small group of friends each time you post. And you can connect other sites you use, today there’s Picasa, Flickr, Google Reader, and Twitter, so your friends can keep up with what you’re doing around the web — all in one place.

To make sure you don’t miss out on the best part of sharing, Buzz sends responses to your posts straight to your inbox. Unlike static email messages, buzz messages in your inbox are live conversations where comments appear in real time.

You can follow the specific people whose posts you want to see, but Buzz also recommends posts from people you’re not directly following, often ones where your friends are having a lively conversation in the comments. If you’re not interested in a particular recommendation, just click the “Not interested” link and your feedback will help improve the recommendations system. Buzz also weeds out uninteresting posts from the people you follow — collapsing inactive posts and short status messages like “brb.”

There will also be integration with your html-capable mobile phone, so Blackberry, iPhone and Android users will be able interact with their friends and followers.

Now, where does this leave Twitter? Obviously, Twitter still dominates the world and for the foreseeable future will continue to reign supreme. But, Google is really making strides to take over all aspects of our online communication experiences. Think about it; email, office suite, phone, search, shopping, now social.

Per Google, they should be rolling this functionality out in the coming days.

Chime in folks

James Hicks

James is the Founder and Chief Technologist of HicksNewMedia, a technology consulting and digital publishing firm providing effective and relevant solutions to individuals and businesses looking to utilize all things on the interweb. Follow him on Twitter | about.me | Facebook | Google+

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