Is Anyone Using Google Plus?

Google Plus, the red-headed step-child of social networking sites — celebrated its first birthday a few weeks ago. In the past year, they have released some pretty cool updates, like the recent Events feature — and yet I’m still not convinced it’s a competitor to Facebook. And maybe that’s because it’s really not a social network at all.

Google’s Vic Gundotra said as much when he recently told the blog Mashable that “Google Plus is just an upgrade to Google.” Hmmm… interesting.

Looking at recent updates and releases, that statement makes total sense. You can log into Youtube using the network, organize your email friends into “circles” — and with Google Plus Local, you can discover new places through reviews from your friends.

I was an early adopter of Google Plus and still tout the serious search-related benefits for companies who use it to connect with their target audience and share relevant content. One of the most recent rollouts, Google+ Events, takes partying to a whole new level.

It’s simple to use. Just click on “Events” on the left and then click the button “CREATE EVENTS.”

Google+ Events is fully integrated into Google Calendars, so when you set up your event, you can choose a theme — called cinegraphs. From there, some of the more subtle features of the theme are carried over to the invitation on your Calendar. Pretty slick!

During the event,  the service called “Party Mode” takes all the photos and videos snapped at the event and uploads them to the event page. For the people who can’t make it to your event, they can still check out the event page (if invited). Go public with the event by switching to “On Air.” Pretty awesome stuff. Everyone who was invited to the event has a folder and can add their photos — quick and easy.

Are you using Google Plus? If you’re not, maybe it’s time to take another look.

If you’ve created an event or joined in a “Hangout” with friends, tell us about it. I think we’re all still trying to figure out how to navigate Google+ for personal and for business.