Just What I Don't Need

Another social network. Although I have to admit, after using Google Plus (a.k.a. Google +, or G+) for the past few weeks, I'm really enjoying it. Maybe it's because it hasn't become overrun with celebrities, political hacks, and marketers yet. As such, there's been some high quality content being shared by people in my "Circles" (similar concept to "friends" on Facebook, or people you "follow" on Twitter).

What I also like about G+ is that you can add people to your circles, and people can add you, without having to return the favor (unlike Facebook). That way, you can get anyone's posts included in your content feed, or "Stream." And unlike Twitter, your posts are not limited to 140 characters, which allows for some quality  exchanges. It's also easy to control who receives your posts by selecting just certain circles, or all of your followers if you choose.

Another nice feature is what Google calls, "Hangouts"; which allows you to participate in a live video chat with 10 of your friends. I understand this will become more tightly integrated with YouTube, allowing you to record your hangout sessions for others to view afterward. I can envision some of the geo-podcachers out there migrating to this type of forum.

Most of the people using Google + so far are what might be described as uber-geeky. While I expect this will change over time as more people get on board, I have been enjoying a lot of the technical items that have come through my stream. I've also noticed that many of the geocachers that I've been following on Twitter and/or Facebook are now also on Google +, and I've already added 15 of them to my "Geocachers" Circle (my largest circle at the moment).

Google + is currently in "field trial", and access is available by invitation only. Although I understand that it will be opening publicly soon. If you can't wait, and you'd like to check it out for yourself, drop me a line in the comments section and I will send you an invite.

Cache On!