The Growth of a Social Network
Posted: Thursday 26 January, 2012
Colin Miller
I started using Google+ within the first week of its release and I have continued to use it daily until now. Like all new things, at first it was unfamiliar and I found myself looking for the comforts I’d come to expect from my Facebook account. However after a while I got used to the layout, the functions and the community of Google+ and found that I was actually using Facebook less and less. Don’t get me wrong I haven’t replaced my Facebook account with Google+, they are, in my opinion, for different purposes. Facebook is where I go to find out what’s going on in my group of friends and connect with people I haven’t spoken to in a while, Google+ is where I go to find out about what’s happening in the wider world and learn new things. Now I’m sure this all depends on how you personally use these social networks, it may be that you are friends with a group of scientists, politicians, biologists, musicians and journalists on Facebook and therefore get all the information you could possible need through Facebook. If like me however, your Facebook contacts cannot provide you with your daily dose of knowledge and inspiration then Google+ could be your answer.
The CEO of Google, Larry Page, recently announced some figures regarding the G+ social network. Since its June launch the network has grown to an impressive 90 million users, of which it is reported that 60% engage daily and over 80% engage weekly. These are some impressive figures on the face of it, there was a lot of negative press surrounding the launch of the network and many users believed that it would ultimately fail as it was competing in a saturated market. Most of the naysayers would probably be justified in their thoughts at the time, as there was really no need for another social network and most users were not willing to put the time or effort in to transferring their entire social identity and voice over to a new home. The early adopters have played a large role in the success of the network so far, their enthusiasm, criticism and input have lead to new developments, media coverage and above all; interesting and innovative content being produced and shared.
It would take too long to list all of the new features and creative projects that have been borne out of the Google+ project so far, suffice to say the list is fairly extensive and interesting. As the network and community continues to grow and evolve there have been obvious changes, more users means more content and of course not all of this content is quality. Nevertheless, the features that make Google+ unique are also those that make it so useful, such as the ability to place people into circles and filter your incoming stream by circle. Essentially, if you put the time into curating your circles and filling them with people who post interesting and worthwhile content of any kind then Google+ becomes an incredibly useful place from which to get all of the latest and most up-to-date information on pretty much any subject you want.
The main thing that has sustained throughout the growth of the Google+ network is the emphasis on community and sharing. Facebook encourages you to interact with people you already know and maybe a few people you don’t, Google+ encourages you to interact almost entirely with people you don’t know. It is this sense of community and broadening of your social horizons that makes Google+ such an interesting place, although it is still early days, the future looks fairly bright for Google+ and knowing that Google is a company that is not prepared to rest on its laurels, there is no telling what could happen to the network in the coming weeks, let alone months or years.
