Unless there is a drastic paradigm shift, like say, edible social media or telepathic status updates, the current framework of social networks is here to stay. Here for a while anyway. Sure, we’ll see some great advancements like video conferencing and virtual currency, but we’ll always have our “friends.”

Enter Google+. I have to admit as someone who talks on and about Facebook every day, the idea of the only company who can go after Facebook, going hard after Facebook, scared me. A little. But then I finally got my invite. What Google+ lacks in familiarity (we’ve only been in a few days right?) it makes up for in a beautifully simple interface, cool new tools, and (gasp) the lack of hard core marketing. Unlike Google Buzz, Google+ is coming out to steady, somewhat quiet and guarded, rave reviews. The integration with Google’s other services like Gmail will certainly be a big, ahem, plus. Is it a Facebook and Twitter killer? Only time will tell. And time on Google+ flies. It can be a bit addictive with only a handful of friends. I can’t imagine what it will be like in a year. Did you know Facebook has only been on top for a scant 3 years?

Since we are all part of a limited user group now, and since it seems to be relatively glitch free (I had trouble uploading more than one photo at a time from my phone. That has since been fixed) expect Google+ to be the fastest growing social media network in a short amount of time, probably August. Maybe you want some quick first impressions? Here are mine. Its clean and easy to use. I’m not quite used to all of the features yet but they look very simple, fast, and tight. If mobile is the future, Google+ is looking way more futuristic. Not sure about your phone, but on my android, Google+ is way faster and easier to use than my already tired old blue Facebook app.

So the big question is, how long will it be before Google+ starts taking real market share from Facebook? How long before it takes over, if ever? My initial thinking is that it will take a long, long time. Partly because of the head start Facebook enjoys, and mostly because of the pending Facebook IPO. Who wouldn’t be daunted by a 750 million customer competitor with the market cap of, say, Germany? You know what’s cooler than the GDP of Australia?

These titan companies, the unbelievable piles of money, and our mountains of precious data grow larger and larger by the day. The giants are bringing us together socially, seemingly making our work and our life easier. I’m glad there is more than one of them. And guess what? LinkedIn just passed MySpace for the current number two. Buckle up, it should get more and more interesting. And interesting is a plus.

(TA)

Image found at Geekword (which has some awesome Google+ vs. Facebook images)