Why I think Google+ is one step ahead of FB

I am not a techie.

I consider myself closer to being a fanboy (or girl in my case) but I repeat, I am not a techie.

But I do love gadgets, new playthings on the internet, new sites, new programs that can do ridiculous things I don't need and widgets that do things that I do.

But I knew Google+ was going to be a whole new ... umm, ballgame.

Google+ has a lot of things to play with ... hangouts, the brilliant automatic linking with Picasa (which had me diving to 'private' all my albums which suddenly were just out there for the world to see - phew). I do however stand by my first status update (is that what they're called on Google+?) in which I offered my opinion that although it was very 'cool' in its look and feel - I did think that the guys at the Big G would have succeeded in making it more user-friendly. Hell, they taught my parents to use email :-)

But coming back to my slightly tall blog title claim - although I'm not sure if Google+ is THE networking tool to do it, I do believe that the future holds ONE networking tool - which is going to run our social lives - online and offline.

To enumerate, I can't see a future with multiple sliding on my tablet / phone between my Facebook, Gmail, Office mail, Google+, GoogleTalk, Skype, Twitter, mobile calling, SMS ... whatever. One of these big guys is either going to, or has already gone for the jugular - ONE ring to rule them all, ONE program to hold it all.

You pick up your phone / tablet / PC / Mac - and you're signed in. You see a list of names, each in their own ... umm, 'circles'? You can either call / SMS / video call / IM / email / Twit them, with stuff like 'tagging', 'attaching' obviously inbuilt. I think the program is what might differ - but every program will HAVE to offer all these communication options and solutions. So it would Facebook v/s Google v/s whoever ... but they would all essentially be clones of each other in terms of what they could accomplish communication-wise for the ordinary user. So person A wouldn't necessary dial a phone number to reach person B, but would dial / SMS / email / tag / videocall an email ID. That would be the one all-pervasive way of reaching you. You are your email ID, or phone number - depending on what you choose to be your online & offline identity.

So according to me, the biggest issue in the future is going to continue to be that of privacy, but essentially dealing with new ways of 'virtually' separating work and personal lives. That would require much more stronger demarcation between friends, family, acquaintances, work colleagues, and a forced attempt by the program itself, to get you to make those tough decisions and draw the lines ... or circles, as they may be :-)

I think we're already ridiculously close to what I mentioned above - especially with FB including Skype in their to-do list, and Google+ with their 'Hangout'. But lets face it - the most difficult thing to 'export' out of your life is your email address, and Google owns you through their Gmail ID. I for one, can't see myself electing to sidle over to FB or any other social network - one's email address is the biggest physical, emotional and virtual investment. It looks like they're all trying to reach that golden ideal of being 'everything' you can do online - and for me, I would any day put my money on the G boyz to bring home that bacon.