About two years ago, Google entered the social media fray and unveiled Google+, its answer to Twitter and Facebook. Essentially, all of Google and its social products are now part one large social network. In fact, when you log into your Google Docs or check your Gmail account, you should see a navigation bar that integrates sharing capabilities with all of its products.

In future blog posts, we’ll talk more about Google+, but below are my impressions.

Design—Lots of white space which makes it easy on the eyes. But it’s pretty simplistic, much like other Google-related products. Grade: B-

Usability—Very simple to navigate and only a few features to learn. You’ll quickly grasp it. But it’s also a blast to use. Grade: A-

Google+ Stream—This is similar to your other social media streams, and combines the best of Facebook and Twitter.  In fact, if Facebook and Twitter had a child, this would be it. You can decide which stream of content to see—your network of friends, colleagues, people you’re following, or all streams. Grade: B+

Google+ Circles—Love this functionality the best. Simply drag and drop your contacts into a circle—choose from Friends, Acquaintances, People to Follow, or just create your own circle. When you see someone you’d like to add, just click and drop. It’s that easy. Grade: A

Google+ Profiles—If you have a Gmail or any type of Google account now, this just automatically ports that data into the Profile section. Simply put, it’s just your personal data. Nothing groundbreaking here. Grade: B

Google+ Hangouts—This is the feature that has everyone abuzz. With Hangouts, you can do video chats with a group of people. Very easy to hold a teleconference using this concept or just chatting with your patients.  Another cool aspect about Hangouts is that the camera angle will switch to the person who is talking at the time. That means, you don’t have to worry about having multiple video feeds opened. Grade: A-

Overall, we give Google+ a B so far. Knowing how Google operates, they’ll continue to evolve its new social networking tool, adding features and improving the current ones. Keep in mind that Google+ should not replace your medical practice’s Facebook or Twitter channels. Rather, it should just be another part of your social media strategy. Like a wheel, your website or your blog should remain the hub, or central piece, of your communications with your patients. All of your social media channels should merely be spokes of your wheel, driving your readers back to your hub.

Are you using Google+ yet? Let me know what you think and we’ll share your comments in a future post. Just email me at writer@danielcasciato.com. Want to add me to your Circle? My Gmail account is danielcasciato@gmail.com.