Here’s a marketing perspective on Google+ as a place for building communities amongst people who “got tired of all the other discussion groups out there.” Maddie Grant sees that Google+ is similar to Twitter in that it is focused on interests, but that it is different from Facebook and LinkedIn because these networks are about making connections to people you already know. Grant sees Google+ as a potential place for training and development through Google Hangouts.
I see Google+ a little differently – a place where I can discuss and learn about sociology, science and other research in more depth with other specialists. I see this as a place for collaboration and hopefully a place to grow public science. It will be interesting to see how marketing companies capitalise on Google+.
The Other Sociologist 