Google Plus (g+). What’s it all about and what does it mean for my business.

I was chatting to Nick Pigott &  Joze Henderson (Our Exeid.com Leicester Area Management team) on Thursday and Nick mentioned ‘Google Plus’ (G+) and asked me if I was up to speed with the latest developments. Now I don’t know about you, but I like to think that I keep pace with many of the new developments on the web even if I’m not always the earliest of adopters. However, this one had completely passed me by. Amazing when you think that I’m a daily user of the Google search tool. So for those of you who are already familiar with Google + or Google Plus feel free to skip this post but be sure to revisit as I m certain Facebook will have something to say in reply. Every one else …..read on. Google + is simply Google’s answer to Facebook. Undoubtedly, Facebook has become the “Google“ of social networking and you guessed it, the folks at Google feel that they should own that title! So you may ask, “Have I missed the boat?” Well, actually, no. Google + was only launched on June 24th 2011 for a restricted and limited beta testing trial. It has only been open to the general public for 3 days (as of Sat 24th Sept 2011) so if you sign up now you really can call yourself an early adopter. “So why should I bother”. Well interestingly enough, in the field trial the demographics released by Google show that the age bracket most highly represented was the 25 to 35 group. This is the age group that have most recently moved into business decision making status. Added to that they have demonstrated that they are most open to new ideas and influences and therefore are likely contain the types of people you may wish to introduce to your own organisation. But how many people use it ? It is estimated that Facebook has over 750 million active users. Facebook has been wining advertising market share from Google as businesses and organisations can use the site in a much more dynamic way to target by demographics. As you’d expect the geeks and the bean counters at Google have risen to this challenge and Google + is their answer. Over 20 million users registered for the trial mainly in the US and a survey suggests that they project to have registered 22% of the US adult population in the first year if this take up is reflected in the UK and Europe then the platform will create an unprecedented level of access to business opportunities. So how do I take advantage of this new platform. As with all things web – you can “do it yourself “or outsource it. The only difficulty is that it’s a new environment in which there will be a constant stream of updates and developments. Its therefore, likely to be an ongoing learning curve. For me, I’m going try and take some time over the next few weeks to familiarise myself with the basics and focus on key areas that I find could be of benefit to my business.  It seems to have the look and feel of a  hybrid between Twitter and Facebook so  most users  familiar with these platforms should feel at home. If you’d like a quick tutorial covering the basis then  click on the video below Well I hope that helps. Feel free to let me know how you get on and to share any tips by emailing here. We’ll publish them in a few weeks time Best of luck with Google Plus 😉 David Ajose