Google announces new social network

The search giant has named the social network project as Google+.

After failed experiments (remember Google Buzz and Wave) in the social networking space, Google has disclosed that it will launch a new social network. The search giant has named the social network project as 'Google+'. In a blog post titled "Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web", the internet giant informs the digital world that its social network will have key features such as 'Circles', 'Sparks', 'Hangouts', 'Instant upload', and 'Huddle'.

So, what do these key features imply?

'Circles' will enable users to categorise and create different friend groups and share specific content with a particular group. 'Sparks' will function like a feed reader. It will be like content (text, photo and video) feed. Users will be enabled to specify their interest and subscribe to various content feeds.

The 'Hangouts' feature will allow users to carry out live video chats with multiple friends at the same time.

The other two features, 'Instant upload' and 'Huddle', are linked with mobile devices. 'Instant upload' will allow users to click photographs (on their phones), which will get uploaded automatically in a private album on Google+. Users can go to Google+ and decide with whom they want to share the uploaded pictures. The 'Huddle' feature will empower users to carry out group chat/messaging (text) on mobile devices.

The search giant mentions that it will be an invite-based network. Currently, Google has opened the social network to a limited number of users, worldwide. However, anyone can experience the above mentioned features on the Google+ website (http://www.google.com/+/demo/). Google has also released several videos (available at Bit.ly/k4bZv8) to explain the features of the social networking site on its blog.

It seems that Google is trying to build the network on the proposition that users will be able to control their social networking life much better than on other available networks such as Facebook.

News agency Reuters, which received a unique preview of Google's new social networking product in the US, shares its perspective of Google+ at Reut.rs/googlesocialnetwork. Read an interesting piece titled 'Why Google+ won't hurt Facebook, but Skype will hate it' by the US-based prominent blogger, Om Malik, on GigaOm at Bit.ly/iz5C9j.