Google+ Communities

New network targets Facebook

By Yardi Blog Staff on Dec 27, 2012 in Technology

In an effort to grab a larger piece of the online networking market dominated by Facebook and LinkedIn, Google has added a new feature to Google+ that will help people connect and build virtual relationships. It’s called Google+ Communities, and the marketing spin is that it will add substance and coherence to online interaction, with networks based on users’ shared interests and passions.

New data asserts that Google+ is gaining ground on the social networking market, to which it arrived late, but it still lags well behind “the Facebook”. According to the company’s own numbers, more than 500 million people have upgraded to Google+, and 235 million are engaged and using the service (+1’ing apps in Google Play, hanging out in Gmail, connecting with friends in Search). Facebook, meanwhile, has over 1 billion active users a month, according to a late 2012 status update from founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Google+ has won over many users with its privacy settings that actually work and are super easy-to-use, and Facebook hasn’t done itself any favors with recent newsfeed advertising changes and targeted ads based on users’ profile information.  Google+ Communities attempts to offer even more freedom to users; you can engage in specific conversations with people who share your hobbies, from photography to traveling to poker nights; plan events; start hangouts, and share with your communities from across the web. You can do it all from your Google+ home screen, you don’t have to visit the community in order to post. You choose whether you want to be notified by e-mail on each new post by other community members, filter posts by topics or sub-categories, share pics, videos or links and add events. Photos are a bit bigger than you’d see on Facebook and the entire interface is more eye-pleasing.

If there’s something you’re interested in or you’re an expert about, Google+ is committed to creating a path that will lead you to achieving your goal. Whether you’re a property manager striving to facilitate interaction between community members, marketing specialists looking for feedback on online tools or residents trying to find inspiration for home decorating, the new communities make it all possible.

If someone is passionate about food and cooking but doesn’t want to read through the whole  conversation, they can join the cooking group and select a sub category set up by the Community owner/administrator in the sidebar, dedicated to a specific part of the topic, whether it’s recipes, chefs, classes or whatever might be of interest to that person.

When creating a community, Google+ users can make it public or private. While anyone may generally join the public communities, Community admins may adjust the settings to require moderator approval before new users can actually join in. When creating a private community, admins can hide it from the search function within Google+ and require a direct link to access the group.

Started out of a desire to make online sharing as meaningful as the real thing, Google+ has managed to create a vibrant community whose members love to share opinions, beliefs and experiences while also discovering new things and meeting new people. Be it in a live hangout, around an inspiring photo, a concept or an idea, or with an inner circle of friends, interaction is always fun, informative and thought-provoking.

 

 

What do you think of Google+’s new feature? Will you join the communities?