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Google+ is the well known effort by Google to break into the social media market. I’ve had the chance to use it for a few days, and here is why I like it better than Facebook.

1. I can control who sees what posts. On Facebook, anything I post is visible to everyone on my friends list. As a professional (not to mention an adult), I may not want everyone to see something I might post. This leads to self-censorship. I am inclined to not post something that I know would appeal to some friends but might turn off others. (Think politics, religion, and Santa Claus.) On Google+, however, I categorize my connections into “circles.” When I post something, I get to pick which circles see it. This is a great feature, and it also means I don’t have to bore my colleagues in town with photos of my dogs or son.
2. A clean interface. Facebook is, well, an eyesore. It’s cluttered, unbalanced, and unattractive. Google+, on the other hand, is leaner, neater, and has sufficient whitespace so you don’t feel like the page is a jumble of things.
3. No Farmville. Not yet, anyway.

The downside to Google+ is that most people who are on Facebook are not on Google+ yet. Whether they will migrate is an open question. My sense is that people will continue to remain on Facebook until they feel there’s a mass move to Google+. Until that time, Google+ is going to have to do some serious marketing to tout its virtues. They are there, but if no one knows about them, few will feel the desire to dump Facebook.

My own plan is to remain on Facebook but to encourage friends to join Google+. I apparently have 150 invitations I can give to people, although I understand even with an invitation it might be a little slow getting beyond the velvet rope. If anyone wants an invite, just drop me an email or leave a comment with your email. I’d be happy to add you to one of my circles.