Going about your business, or pleasure

I haven’t tried Google+ (pronounced ploo, the French way), but I note that there hasn’t been the dismissive pile-on that greeted Buzz and Wave. My meta-analysis is that they might be on to something.

It’s been noted many times that Google has a social graph, even if they haven’t presented it as such. They know who your friends are via Gmail, and they know what you are interested in via Search and its many tentacles.

Assuming they’ve created an understandable, well-implemented product, the one advantage they have over Facebook is that you are on Google anyway, and not for social reasons. They can overlay the social stuff in a place you will already be.

Simply by going about your business, you are reminded of your friends’ activities and are generating a stream of your own.

People go to Facebook because they want to be social — a deliberate step. With Google, you are already there.

There’s an adage that nothing will kill a bad product faster than good marketing. If you combine a good product with Google’s inherently massive market, then “not bad” might suffice.

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It’s worth noting that Google hasn’t committed to making plus about “personal” or “business”. Facebook and LinkedIn position themselves on opposite ends of this spectrum.

Google’s products span both business and pleasure. Your inbox probably has both types of communication in it. Gmail itself shape-shifts between the two — in the form of Google Apps.

This blurring of lines may be +’s sleeper advantage.