A few weeks ago people started announcing on Facebook, “who wants a google+ invite?” Comments followed, “what’s a google plus?” then, “it’s the thing that will make Facebook the new MySpace.” I remember once wanting to skip Facebook and wait for the next thing. Now, even my mom is really into it. The Google+ Project is attempting to take social networking to a new level with what they call making online sharing more like sharing in real life. It’s hard to say if it will catch on, but there are some very useful new features (especially if you already use gmail or other Google products). Here are the things I like about Google+…

The Look: Streamlined, simple, white and minimalist. No distractions with an easy to use interface.

The Circles: You have the option of putting your friends into different friendship circles or groups. When you post something you have the option of sharing with specific people. Family see family posts, work people see work friendly posts etc. You have a lot more control over who sees what and what you see from others.

The Hangout: This is a group video chat element that allows you to have a video conference with multiple friends simultaneously.

Google+ is now available to every one and of course it is free. If you already have a gmail or other Google products then you might want to try it. It’s connected with your gmail account so no new password to learn or signing up to do. It takes about a minute to fill out a Google profile. And of course you can always sync it to your Facebook account just to keep mom in the loop.

Take a tour of Google+ or learn more with videos.