This is an interesting insight into how Google’s strategy for developing Google+ is significantly different from Facebook. Google clearly have a lot of web assets waiting in the wings just asking for integration with a social platform. They can gain a constant injection of momentum from these useful semantic-web become-social features.

I must admit to begin with I was a little uninspired with G+, as the initial product seeming very basic and Facebook-like – streams, posts, checkins. but on reflection perhaps this was a good idea. Offer up something simple and understandable – everyone knows how to use Facebook – so using Google+ required no brain-twisting phase-shift like Gmail or Wave. There was no barrier to entry other than lack of friends. But then if you slowly add dozens of interesting features like really good maps integration for general lifestyle purposes, business features like Docs  + Hangouts and then huge leisure communities like You Tube it starts to become a more ubiquitous social ‘glue’ between these islands of usefulness we already take for granted.

Article by readwriteweb