Below is a list of my 10 most favorite things about Google Plus. Of course, this is my personal opinion. If you hate the network, completely agree or disagree that is ok. Be sure to let us know below what your favorite things are about Google+!
1. No Ads
There are no ads on Google+.
2. Control over who sees your stuff
It is very easy to control who sees what you’re posting. You can easily put up a picture of yourself doing drunken kegstands that only your friends can see, then a picture of the kids eating ice cream than only your family can see, then a picture of you at church that only your pastor can see, then a picture of you at work that your coworkers can see, then a picture of a cat falling off of a table for the world to see.
3. Photo sharing
The photo sharing abilities on Google+ are awesome. Photographers have flocked to the site for this reason, or at least (almost) any photographer that takes their business seriously. AutoAwesome features abound and are relatively easy to use. High resolution pictures can be added. Adding attribution is not as easy as it is on Flickr but you can add your watermark to your important pictures or just set some free as an example of your work. (They do get “stolen” on there often so share wisely.)
4. Typography
On Twitter you’re limited to 140 characters. Not on Google+. You can easily type out a short novel. Add bold, italics, strikethrough and more. What’s next, your choice of font?!
5. Business owners and professionals
Business owners and professionals use Google+ to network with other people in their industry. Whereas Facebook is great for connecting with people you already know, Google+ is great for connecting with people you didn’t know. There are a lot of similar sayings out there like this, and kudos to whoever came up with them.
6. Integration
Google+ integrates into YouTube and Blogger and the Play Store so nicely. It really is amazing. Of course, a LOT of YouTube users hate the integration of G+ comments in YouTube but Google+ users who casually use YouTube seem to really enjoy the benefits of it.
7. Authorship
If you have a company website blog, or you’re just a blogger you can install Authorship. This allows your face to show up in Google Search results resulting in a higher click through rate.
8. GIFs
GIFs are great on Google+. At times I wonder if many users use Google+ simply for the GIFs. They play right in your stream, no hovering or clicking needed. Love them or hate them, GIFs are huge on Google+.
9. HOAs
Hangouts On Air are just great. A HOA is a video broadcast. The video can be shared publicly or privately. When done recording the HOA becomes a YouTube video. If you’re still not sure what a HOA is see my article What are Google+ Hangout On Air? which describes in detail what an HOA is.
10. Google+ Local Pages
Now Google Places listings have Google+ Local Pages. These are rapidly integrating more and more with Google. Pages can be claimed, verified, support pictures, images, can own YouTube channels, interact with followers, posts show up in company knowledge graphs, posts help content get indexed, the pages can build pagerank, +Post Ads allow G+ Page content to be seen across the content network, Adwords integration and more.
There are many other great things taking place on Google+. Communities, people meeting others, HIRLs, Google Local City Experts, embedded posts, circle shares, etc… The list goes on.
What are your favorite Google+ features?
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