What seems to be very attractive to potential new users of the Google Plus platform is that the Circles feature does not penalize individuals for reaching out to strangers, yet it still protects users from spam-like introductions. The same way that people in real life can choose when and how to interact, the Circles feature of Google Plus allows for the same kind of normal, compartmentalized interactions.
More: Google Plus Circles Feature Could Change The Way We Network – Secaucus New Jersey News
You can also make circles for people you don’t necessarily know but are interested in following their updates (e.g. Tech Journalists, Famous Engineers, Web Celebrities, etc.). This is where Google+ echoes Twitter, because people don’t have to follow you back in order for you to add them to one of your Circles. At that point, you’ll see all of their public updates, and most of these folks make the majority of their updates public in order to be seen by more people (it’s the whole social media narcissism meme, and it has already transplanted itself on Google Plus).
More: Is Google+ about to transform the Web? – ZDnet
Overall, in my early testing, I find Google Plus a compelling answer to some existing problems in social media. Because of its integration with other Google services and its general ease of use, I would probably prefer using Google Plus to Facebook or Twitter.
But it all depends on how many people sign up. A sharing site isn’t much fun if no one is around to share with. For now, I can’t invite friends to join. Google Plus is free, but the company is restricting new sign-ups. Even those who already got a coveted invite are told to try joining later because Google Plus had exceeded its capacity.
More: Review: Google Plus Thoughtful Answer To Facebook – Associated Press
AP closed by calling Google+ the “grown-up Facebook”. Time will tell…