When I first jumped on Google+, there were a few things I really loved: refreshing aspects to the UI; a lack of limitations on post length and linking; circles concept; usage of existing web applications (YouTube, PicasaWeb/Picasa, Buzz) to tie services together.
But, mostly, I had complaints: no API; no exclusion based permissions; no RSS/ATOM feed; no integration with Twitter or Facebook; difficult to share only a handful of photos in an album; default stream is not customizable.
I knew I would still use the service because, even with those short comings, it felt better than anything else. But I honestly expected that Facebook would be the service that I gave up time with to spend, instead with Google+. That isn’t the case, though.
Instead, it seems that I’ve reduced my usage of Twitter. Sure, I still post there as my primary “microblogging” location. It feeds to Facebook, so they both get updated with the same content. I have to manually cross post to Google+ so, in that regard, some things just never make it there. And, if someone leaves a comment (or a mention, or a reply) on any service (Twitter, Facebook, whatever) I almost always read it and respond when appropriate. But when it comes to catching up with the updates of other people, I’m fully caught up on Google+ and Facebook, but I’m way, way, way behind on a regular basis when it comes to Twitter.
I think there are a few main reason for this. First, Twitter encourages content-less updates. 140 characters is just not enough. It’s good for a link with a little comment. It’s good for a quick update on an ongoing event, issue, or topic. But, in many cases, it’s just not long enough for a complete thought or idea. So most of the updates there are meaningless.
Secondly, Twitter doesn’t give you an easy way to ignore, hide, or mute someone while still following them. Yes, you can make a list and just read that list. But adding people and removing people from a list takes like a billion clicks. Too many. Compare to Google+: when I first add someone to a Circle I also add them to “Inbox”. If I find they are too noisy or not interesting enough to take time out of my regular reading intervals, I just take them out of “Inbox”. I can still catch up with them later when I check “Friends” or “Family” or whatever other group they fall into. And if they don’t fall into any other group, then there’s no reason to catch up on them. Facebook doesn’t give me that much flexibility without jumping through some UI hoops, but, at least I can quickly hit the “Hide” button and never see posts from that person again.
Ultimately, it’s the mobile interface that helps to keep me up to date. And with both Facebook and Google+ I can quickly get the list of updates that matter most to me. I can’t do that with Twitter and, therefore, it eventually becomes too much to keep up with, so I just start reading back at the top.
Also, one more interesting note is how much Circles have changed things for me. On Twitter, everything I write is Public. Which leaves me frightened to post anything too off the cuff for fear that it’ll come back to haunt me with such permanence. On Facebook, everything is “Friends Only” because it’s too hard to switch back and forth. Google+ is the only service where I have a nice mix of content going “Public”, “Extended Circles”, “Circles” and even individual circles for more “security”. It’s true that nothing on the web is “private” and I don’t expect it to be. But keeping some things out of the eyes of a would-be employer/client/future-father-in-law armed with Google Search is a good thing.