Facebook vs Google+ - which social networking site is better?

Friendster had its time and was battling the social networking (SN) world with Myspace. Twitter then entered the microblogging scene, which is also considered a social networking site. When Mark Zuckerberg, the man behind Facebook, launched his SN site, it took the world by storm and eventually gained the title of being the largest social networking site with over 750,000,000 users. But their's someone new to this industry who is joining the battle and mind you they do have a good chance of winning it. The newest, youngest, and the fastest growing social networking site is called Google+.

Let me first introduce you all (even this is already late) to Google's own social networking site, the Google+ Project. It still holds the title of "project" because it is, apparently, still not available to the public. You can only get a Google+ account if you were invited to join the site (for those who wants to be invited just hit me up on Facebook with a message). Google is still very busy polishing the site and Google Games was recently added into it with the aim to directly compete with Facebook. Everything that Facebook has, Google+ has it too (mostly).

Google+ Homepage (click to view full size)

That is how my Google+ Stream looks like. Google's own term for Facebook's News Feed is Stream, you know differentiating as much as possible. Let me just run down how these two networking sites are identical in features and will get to what makes them different later.

• Similarities
• Facebook has the like button while G+ has the +1 button.
• Comments on post 
• Facebook has news feed while G+ has the stream
• Facebook has the status bar (What's on your mind) while G+ has the stream bar (Share what's new...)
• Facebook has photos and videos and so does G+
• Facebook and G+ both have profiles
• Facebook and G+ have games
• Facebook and G+ have a chat service (both with video calling)
• Facebook has friends while G+ has circles (which is what G+ is all about, the circles)
• Facebook has notifications in red (for new stuff) so does G+
• Play videos inside the site both sites have it
• Both also have apps for your smartphones (G+ is currently only available for the iOS and the Android platform)

Google+ Circles

So far those are what I can list down, Google is still busy adding new stuff into G+ so new stuff should come in the future. So now what makes them different? Since they both offer the same kind of services and features the difference lies on the details of these features and whatnots. So let me get started.

• What makes them different then?
1. For those who has a G+ account and have been using it together with their Facebook, you should notice that G+ is a lot faster compared to Facebook in terms of navigating, searching for a profile, responding to a notification, which by the way is brilliant on G+, (I will discuss this further later). This, I believe, is not because G+ has a small user base compared to Facebook but I think it is really Google's power, they have gigantic servers.
2. G+ has Hangouts which Facebook does not. Hangouts is basically a group video calling (powered by Gtalk) feature right inside G+ for up to 10 other people. Facebook's Skype-powered video calling currently only offers a one-on-one video call.
3. G+ is owned by Google. Yes, by that alone G+ rocks. Remember that Google has other internet services out there like YouTube (G+ is better in sharing videos from YouTube), Google Search (which powers G+'s search box which equals to quick results), Picasa, Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs to name a few.
4. In Facebook you can upload photos in high-resolution and you can't do that in G+ which makes uploading photos on G+ faster and viewing and scrolling on albums faster.
5. In my own opinion, G+ has a better photo viewer. (photo)
6. G+'s stream is updated in real time which means the moment a post is posted on the stream it will automatically show up. On Facebook they refresh the news feed in intervals.
7. Comments on G+ like streams automatically update themselves. If a stream receives comments like there is no tomorrow, you could see the comments slide up in real time. In Facebook, you really have to do a refresh or click on the notification icon and head to that particular post to read a new comment.
8. G+'s notifications system or concept is the bomb! You can respond to notification right inside the notification bar without having to leave the page (that is in the background). (photo)
9. Post a new stream on G+ via the Google+ bar which is always available wherever you are on G+ and even if you are on your Gmail account, Google Reader, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and even when your on Google's search engine (Google.com). (photo)
10. Google's greatest advantage is Android. Basically and technically speaking, G+ has a smartphone platform while Facebook doesn't. Upload photos and videos to G+ (while on your computer) from your phone without having to touch you Android smartphone, that is a major plus and is totally cool. 

Photos:

Album and photo viewer in G+ (click to view full size)

G+'s notification bar (Click to view in full size)

I believe that is it. Apparently, Google+ has a + above Facebook. I like G+, it shows, and logically Facebook is responding, which is good. Finally, Facebook has a competitor and its not just like Twitter that doesn't make Facebook feel threatened but this time its direct competition. Competition, if it does not do harm, will only make things better for the users. Just like what is happening today, when Google announced Google Games in G+, which by the way is also faster and is (I think) is better overall than Facebook's, Mark Zuckerberg and his team immediately responded and have improved their gaming feature. 

I can keep on writing here about these two social networking sites but what really matters in the end is user preference (actually, who gets the most users is the thing that matters). It would be better if you try out Google Plus by clicking the link. If you can't sign up for a new account, then like what I said in the first part of this post, hit me up on Facebook and I'd be glad to send you an invite to join the site. You don't need to add me, you can send me a message even if we are not friends.