A social network convo: Google+, Facebook, Twitter

I had this post on Google+ a while back that led to some interesting discussion on social networks.
The original, on Google+, is right here if you want to check it out.

The key parts went like this:

Me: The more I think about it, the more it seems like Google+ will be comfortably ensconced between Facebook and Twitter. Facebook is heavier; you're less likely to babble about random things on there - each post you tend to put more thought into. It also has that exclusive and private feel to it - just me and my friends. This is relative to Twitter, where you tweet whatever the !$@# you want; it's like a shouting affair. Plus the fact you can follow nearly anyone...

G+ puts all this together with the ability to follow and group into circles. The lack of a wall makes you a little more comfortable to post whatever, whenever, without considering the "other people's posts on my wall vs. my posts" ratio.

Ah and I think Instant Upload is a big deal... and the (so I hear) greater privacy controls over photos. The easier privacy controls actually is a huge.... plus.

Friend (male): Interesting - I would actually rearrange that to say that Facebook sits between Plus and Twitter, in that status posts and such are seen by all "friends," regardless of if they're a "friend of 10 years and counting" or a "friend that I saw once in class." For me that exclusive and private feel to it is more readily manifested by Plus's control via circles, than Facebook's control via friending. Ie., you can mimick Facebook in Plus by putting everyone into the same circle, but it's a lot harder to mimick Plus in Facebook, and going down a step you can mimick Twitter in both by again putting everyone in the same circle in Plus and barfing your brains out in discrete little chunks of 140 characters, or doing the same while accepting any and all friend invites in Facebook, but you can't go back up the ladder from Twitter to either of the two.

Friend (female): In Facebook, you can filter your friends into groups so certain people see certain things, while others don't...which is kind of similar to the circles idea, IMO.

What I would like to see in + is the trending stuff in twitter.....because twitter is cool like that.

Friend (male): Granted, but because Plus is entirely built around the concept the interface is a lot smoother and intuitive - a merely aesthetic point, perhaps, but it makes a difference. The concept is made salient in Plus, while I would say that very few people in Facebook go to the trouble of compartmentalizing to such a degree. At the moment I see one of Facebook's largest advantages is its enormous user-base (world's third largest "nation" :P) - this difference may be what will allow Plus to siphon people away.

Also, more generally, I see Google's expertise in search being very easily implemented, while Facebook's search functions really aren't much to speak of.

Me: +[insert name] though Facebook's list organization is far more difficult to use than Google's Circles;
+[insert name] I see what you mean. I feel that the ability to draw from both types of social networks gives me the image of something like this:

Facebook <===> G+ <===> Twitter
More formal; flexible formality; informal
Many people, loosely categorized; categorized people through and through; not necessarily ppl
Meaningful posts; any kind of post; %$#%^ posts (tweets)

... eh, it's all relative anyway. It probably ties more to how I personally use social networks.

Friend (male): Yeah, I think Facebook isn't nearly as "formal" to a lot of other people as it is to you - though one interesting perspective is to consider the GUI. Question: between Windows XP and Mac OS X, which seems more "formal" or "professionsal" or "technical?" For me, based purely on presentation, I would say XP, if only for the reason that XP looks more linear and squareish, while Mac OS X is softer and more elegant. Similarly between Facebook and Plus, do you think there could be an influence of presentation? Facebook is familiar, structured, and linear, while Plus is open and sparse, and graphically less rigid.

Me: YES. I was actually about to mention design. Facebook's design has that blue bar at the top, which lends to a "rigid" or "restricted" feel (at least for me, probably for a good number of others deep down). Also, while not terrible, the constant ads on the right sidebar, or actually both sidebars combined contribute to the barred feeling of the site. After visiting Facebook for years, I admit the comfortable feeling of the site wears away with these subtleties... albeit only for brief moments when I'm surfing.

Google+ has such a clean, smooth, minimalist layout that the feeling of flexibility really comes through. It can morph into anything = how I think of G+. In fact, google.com has always been my home page, and part of the reason is the absolute emptiness of the page. It just, for me at least, clears your mind. Helps you relax a bit, even. (You know, with all the clutter on the web and in life.)
Between Windows and Mac, I feel Windows is slightly more formal - partly based on its philosophy behind maximizing windows, partly based on my experiences visiting software companies showcasing their software - there'll all on windows. Windows also gives me a "laborious" feeling that's difficult to describe. Oh - and the key thing that undermines the formality of Mac (which isn't a bad thing) is the philosophy behind having many windows open at once with corners and bits of sides peaking out. (Goes back to the philosophies behind maximizing: http://www.forevergeek.com/2006/09/mac_vs_windows_its_all_about_the_maximize_button/)

Technical, though, I wouldn't push too much to the Windows side - the Unix OS within Mac is actually a large reason I switched. I needed it for RoR programming, and I know all [good] Rails devs say Mac rules and Windows.. doesn't.

Friend (male): Personally I don't really mind the ads on Facebook - they're there, and they take up space, sure, but not an inordinate amount, so they become just another part of the framework that I don't need to pay attention to.

And yeah, I've always had google as my homepage as well, until I switched to Chrome haha (now my "homepage" is just that "new tab" page).

Haha, I won't get into Windows vs. Mac - that's a debate that never ends. And really - in the context of programming, given that you can use even notepad to program, albeit more slowly, it really doesn't matter what OS you're on. In other contexts such as gaming or graphic design, there are much clearer advantages. I intended it as purely a visual comparison - though your article on "maximization" as an indication of the workflow philosophies is interesting. I'm not sure how much I believe about how strong of an indicator it is, but it's an interesting perspective.