First it was Google Buzz, and last August it was Google Wave and now Google+ (Plus). Google the leader in search holds two-thirds of the U.S. market in search and now it is trying once again to compete with the largest social network – Facebook. Will Google strikeout or is three the charm?Google+

What makes this new social experiment Google+ different than its predecessors?

  • It lets users share things with smaller groups of people through a feature called “Circles.” You can allow specific groups such as co-workers, childhood friends see your photos, links or updates that you post.
  • Another feature called “Sparks” finds content you care about the most. This content can be about gadgets, tech news or whatever you find most interesting. You can then share this with you social groups who also have the same interest.
  • Want to share photos? There’s a group messaging service called “Huddle” and it lets users instantly upload photos from their smart phones. The photos are stored in a private photo album on Google’s servers, and it allows users to access them and share them whenever they want.

How does Google gain market share that Facebook is dominating with more than 700 million users?

There are millions of people who use Google for search, email, and sharing and if Google can come out with a product just as rich as Facebook, it could gain popularity they need to compete in social networking. Unfortunately some skeptics see if differently.

Lou Kerner, a social media analyst with Wedbush Securities, believes the game is over in the competition to become the world’s global social network. With 700 million users, Facebook has won, he said.

Google+ is only accessible by invitation only and not yet available to the public. The only thing now is to wait for Google+ to go public.