WHAT IS GOOGLE PLUS?

After months of speculation, Google has launched a social network to rival Facebook;it is  google plus.

WHAT IS GOOGLE PLUS?

Google Plus is Google's second social networking portal after Orkut. It integrates various services into one. It is a cross between Facebook and Twitter with a twist of its own.

Google's new service is designed to enable people to post status updates, share links and upload photos. If you want to become a Plus person, you have to be invited by someone who is already registered with the service. You would need a valid Google account. Yes, your Gmail account will be adequate enough.

*Circular Concept

Instead of posting an update that goes out to everyone, Google* enables users to create "circles" or groups, it is a simple grouping method, where you can drag and drop contacts in a chosen circle, such as a user's poker buddies, university friends, work colleagues and family members.Unlike Facebook, where you have to scroll through pages of people and then select update and do three other things in between, Google has kept it simple.There are recommended names from your chat and other lists who can be dragged into any particular group. This way when you post a picture, video or even updates of your status, you can choose to which circles these should be shown and which should be ignored.

"The 'circles' idea makes a lot of sense," said Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research."It's smart, and while you can do something similar in Facebook, it's not Facebook's main thing. It's not as easy to do."

*Virtual hangouts

Hangout enables video chatting with groups of friends on Plus.

*Android Integration

Google operating system for phones and tablets. A Google Plus application is already out for Android users to keeps them constantly active on this social system.

*Everything Google in one

services such as GChat, Picasa and Google Reader under one roof. Google is still experimenting, so there is obviously more to come.

The one certainty is that Google is facing an uphill battle in taking on Facebook. While the social network has officially said that it has more than 500 million users, other sources recently have reported that the number now is more than 750 million.