Google+ Readies for Launch – What are the Top 10 Social Networking Sites?

Google+ is fast becoming an Internet sensation as was evident earlier last week when Google was forced to suspend Google+ invite following an “insane demand” for its social networking service. But does it have what it takes to challenge Facebook and other existing social networking sites?

Google+, unlike previous social networking products/services launched by Google, is here to stay. Though it is in the beta version, yet, it has met with overwhelming response and rumor has it that even the Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also opened a Google+ account.

Why? Because Google+ has several amazing features that promise to change the way we interact, socialize and connect to others over the Internet.

They are:

1) Circles - The Circles concept more closely follows the way you organize your contacts in real life. We meet different kinds of people everyday and interact with them in many different ways. Circles offers a simple means of organizing one's social network by grouping contacts into anything you can possibly imagine - family, friends, co-workers, etc. The groups can be formed by dragging the contact's picture/photo over a circle that represents the group (a group of people can also be dragged over a circle!)

2) Stream – Stream helps you receive instant updates from your friends and other contacts in your Circles list. It helps you decide and choose which circles and individuals you want to share your information with.

3) Sparks – Sparks pulls in stories, videos and other cool content relating to your specific interest. According to Google, the content in Sparks stream is different from the results you'd get if you put the same term into the search engine. Through Sparks, you can get an instant fountain of relevant information to share with friends. After you are asked to choose from a list of possible interests (biking, sailing, etc.), or to put your own specific interest, Google+ goes out and searches almost completely on-topic content from all over the Web.

4) Hangouts - Hangouts allows up to 10 users to video chat. All users can speak simultaneously and the loudest speaker takes the center stage.

5) Huddle - Huddle is a group SMS conversation feature where mobile phone numbers of members will be visible to all.

6) Instant Upload – Instant Upload allows the user to upload pictures and videos directly from the phone

Google+ also has amazing privacy features which will put Facebook to crying shame. It allows you choose which Circles you want to share that content with. Also, it lets you know clearly that the information you contribute to Google+ will be used to help refine search results.

Another advantage Google+ has over Facebook is their "data liberation," which allows you to pack up and take your data away from Google+ should you decide to leave the service.

This is a big plus for Google as privacy has always been Facebook’s Achilles’ heel as users have complained how difficult it is to leave Facebook and take their stuff with them.

The billion dollar question now is – can Google+ shake the existing order of social networking sites and successfully claim the throne?

Click on the slideshow to learn more about the top 10 social networking sites out there and whether Google+ can top them all.

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Quantcast rank: 232
Quantcast monthly US people: 4.9M
Compete.com monthly change: +2.33%
Compete.com yearly change: -28.36%

LiveJournal was launched in April 15, 1999 by Brad Fitzpatrick as an online journal where users are able to post, share, and interact with other users. It is possible to join for free, but a paid account ($19.95/year) gives additional features.

Quantcast rank: 183
Quantcast monthly US people: 5.9M
Compete.com monthly change: -4.13%
Compete.com yearly change: -16.15%

Tagged is a San Francisco-based social network website, created in 2004, that links people based on shared interests. Unlike other popular social networking sites where they are trying to keep in touch with their old friends, Tagged is interested in helping people to find new friends.

Quantcast rank: 47
Monthly US People: 18.8M (estimate)
Compete.com monthly change: +5.95%
Compete.com yearly change: -8.44%

Flickr has started out as an online photo uploading and managing website, but the site has become popular for bloggers and users to integrate their postings, evolving into something that is more like a social networking site. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and now owned by Yahoo!.

Quantcast rank: 43
Monthly US People: 19.7M (estimate)
Compete.com monthly change: -6.34%
Compete.com yearly change: -54.47%

MySpace was once the No. 1 social networking site until Facebook took over the throne in 2008. The company has been recently purchased at $35 million by Specific Media, with Grammy award-winning artist Justin Timberlake also taking an ownership role.

Tumblr offers intuitive microblogging service.

Quantcast rank: 23
Monthly US People: 40.6M
Compete.com monthly change: +19.28%
Compete.com yearly change: +49.53%

LinkedIn is a social networking site, mostly geared towards professionals. This professional social site helps people to find jobs, find people, and hire people. The account is free to create, but there are fees involved with some of the activities.

Twitter has yet to prove it's worth $8 billion dollars.

YouTube founders to revamp Delicious

Quantcast rank: 2
Monthly US People: 138.9M (estimate)
Compete.com monthly change: +3.44%
Compete.com yearly change: +15.26%

The new social networking giant was birthed in a Harvard dormitory by its undergraduate student Mark Zuckerberg with his fellow friends. It originally served only the Harvard students, quickly expanding to the Ivy League, and was followed by the rest of America’s colleges and universities, and now 750 million or 10 percent of the world’s population connect over Facebook.

It’s true that other social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter, have had a head start -- and Google+ has a long way to go.

However, Google+ will likely not be playing second fiddle for long. Given its features and buzz, Google+ could prove good enough to become a serious contender for the No. 1 social networking service.

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