It has been exactly two weeks since Google announced their new social networking service Google+. And some early adopting wineries are already kicking the tires even if the service is still in a limited release requiring an invitation (more on that later). So I thought I would give a short summary of what Google+ offers wineries and some impressions after using the service for a few days.
First, Google+ reminds me a lot of Twitter circa early 2007 although it shares more with Facebook and Friendfeed than the popular micro-blogging platform. It has the same vibe as Twitter five years ago and many of the same early adopters in the wine industry are there right now attempting to figure out where it fits in our industry. Google+ is sort of a mashup of Facebook and Twitter but does not require the friend permissions system of Facebook making it more open and indexable into Google’s search engine. But to their credit, Google has also provided ways to post content to limited groups of people, a la Facebook.
The main difference from Facebook is Google+ enables you to build communities of interest called Circles using an innovative, game-like interface. Google gets you started with obvious Circles such as Family, Friends, and Acquaintances but you can create as many as you like. Even better, you can put people into multiple circles so you can both follow and message based upon interest or relationship. Once your Circles are complete you can choose to post to them or to everyone you are connected to. So for instance I can post wine-related content to wine industry contacts and bloggers and vacation photos to just my family and friends. This feature is much easier to use than Facebook friend groups which I abandoned quite a while back.
There are other innovative features to Google+ but the most interesting to me is Hangouts. These are ad-hock video conferences between up to 10 participants. Last Friday evening Rick Bakas hosted such a Hangout sharing weekend wine picks. Since most laptops these days come with video cameras, Hangouts are much easier to do and is currently totally free. I see great potential for wineries using Hangouts to connect with customers, hold small virtual tastings, and extend their customer service.
But like Twitter in early 2007, I don’t see an immediate need for wineries to adopt Google+ just yet. Later this year company profiles will be launched providing a winery with Facebook Page-like functionality. Until then I recommend only early adopters jumping in and creating a personal profile to join the conversation and check it out. If any readers don’t yet have a Google+ invite, just send me an email to acanmedia (at) gmail (dot) com and I will hook you up (Google profile or Gmail is required right now).
Google+ shows a lot of promise for being an alternative to Facebook AND Twitter. Once Google integrates more of their services to this social network it may surpass Facebook as the most engaging social platform for wineries. But it’s very, very early days right now. You can connect with me on Google+ here.
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