You’ve perhaps heard about Google+ , the latest of Google’s many attempts at creating a social networking site to rival Facebook.

Previous attempts have sunk, but Google+ seems to be their best effort yet.  It’s much like other social networks, in that you connect with people to share ideas, links, photos and suchlike.  However, Google+ really is different, not to mention better than Facebook, in that it is as easy to use as you’d expect Google products to be, is free from detritus like adverts and silly games, and the most attractive concept is that of “circles”.

With “circles” you don’t just “friend” or “follow” someone on it, you put them in as many or as few self-created circles as you like, with the idea being that you can choose to share anything you post with whichever circles you like and can in turn limit your “stream” (the content you read) according to what circles you want to follow at any time.  To be fair such a feature is possible with Facebook but is a lot fiddlier to do.

I’ve signed up to Google+ and while it does have the slight feel of a bland, modern housing estate at the moment, it is slowly coming to life.  Whether coincidence or not, I’ve seen a corresponding decline in “noise” on Facebook, which I am finding to be increasingly dodgy when it comes to security, privacy and so on.

I’ll stay on Facebook, not least because my author page is on there, but reckon I’ll be doing a lot more on Google+ for the foreseeable future.  I think it is going to be increasingly my social networking site of choice.  Of course I remain on Twitter, but then that’s always been about sharing information rather than social networking.

I think Google+ is invite only still, while they continue to develop it and iron out flaws, so let me know if you’d like one.

Oh, and here’s my profile right here.  And if anyone knows of any good wee social networking buttons that include Google+ in their series (like those on the bottom left of my front page), then I’d love to be directed to them.