How Facebook (Subscribe) is Outgoogling Google+
The problem with Google+ is its emptiness. To use Google+ you must add all of your Facebook friends in some circles. There are two steps: adding friends and categorizing them. Adding friends might be a dull task to complete, and when you’re done – you still need to add them into circles. Facebook on the other hand is “killing” Google+ by automatizing its social features, something Google has always done best. Spam filters, Priority inbox, etc. Oh Google…
Facebook doesn’t have that problem. While the Subscribe button has the same functionality as adding someone into a circle, Facebook took care of categorizing your current friends. Smart Lists on Facebook will create several lists based on your work place, where you live or what school you went to. And on top of that, you can create your own lists with friends you connect the most, or you can create a list for people you just don’t really like.
Facebook is Where You’ll Stay.
I’m really glad to live in the days when social media si growing and every social network has a piece of another one. Google+, the latest social network, has circles, so you can follow someone without being their friend. Follow? Yep, that’s Twitter in Google+. Recently, Twitter featured Recent Images, showing up every image you have ever uploaded. Was there a reason to bloat up simple interface? Yes, it’s called Facebook.
Finally, Facebook revealed the Subscribe option. Now you can subscribe to someone’s public updates without becoming friends on Facebook. It’s like Follow on Twitter or Add to Circle on Google+, only better. Why?
Subscribing to someone’s public updates is practically the same as adding them into Circles on Google+. So where’s the difference, why is Subscription better solution? It’s in the uniformity and centralization of Facebook and its News Feed. Until now, you would have to have two open tabs in your browser in order to follow your friends of Facebook and interesting people on Google+. Now, everything is a part of one social network and in one feed.
Are You Still on Google+?
It looks like Facebook just did a great job at using the data it has on you. Why bother you with creating lists and deciding which friend goes into which list when it has all the necessarily data to create a list by itself and let you modify it if needed. Priority Inbox, Google, remember?
Remember when Google+ started, everybody said that it was the best social network ever, Facebook killer etc. Personally, I haven’t found Google+ useful, innovative or remotely exciting as some people have. There was a bunch of my Facebook friends that proudly had that annoying “I’ve moved!” (to Google+) profile picture. Today, the predictions of Google+’s future shows up to be true – it’s dead. I claimed that Google+ wouldn’t stand a chance competing with Twitter and Facebook and as it turns out, I wasn’t far off. Tell me, how many of you actually use Google+?
However, Facebook’s implementation of Google’s and Twitter’s option to follow someone, to subscribe to its public updates is something I really might get into and use it regularly. And you’ll use it too!
Facebook is a place where all your friends and contacts are. Some of them might have moved to Google+, but they’re coming back, I can assure you that. They’re coming back because they’ve also found out that although Google+ may be a new toy, it’s not as nearly exciting as Facebook is. And habits are a hard-to-change thing.
By giving its users the Subscribe button, Facebook has put the final nail in the coffin of Google+ and once again confirmed itself as the ultimate social network. Let’s not forget that on upcoming F8 conference this week, Facebook will announce some new features putting Google’s engineers to work.
Personally, all of my Facebook updates are set to Friends Only, but I plan to remove some of my “friends” from the list and let them subscribe to my public updates. The link to this blog post will be my first public update, so feel free to subscribe to my public updates.
This is what’s killing Google+; for years now we complained about Facebook’s privacy policy and now it given us more control over it. So much more control that even if you liked Circles, you’ll forget about them soon, just like you did with Google+. When did you last log in into Google+? What about Facebook?
