Google+ beckons; it's time to say goodbye to Facebook

Enough’s been written about the possibility (or impossibility) of Google+, (Google’s now weeks-old social network) dethroning Facebook, the current undisputed king of the rather slippery social networking heap. Numbers have been calculated, trajectories of growth compared, foots have been shoved in mouths and so on. I’m a maths atheist (like my favourite cartoon character Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes) so I try my best to stay away from calculations. I’m no pundit either — so I’ll resist the temptation to stick my foot in my mouth. But here’s my take on this most important of matters because as is suddenly true for most Indians, cricket has temporarily ceased to be No 1 on our list of most important things. Until the BCCI can tempt Gary Kirsten back with some of its riches, or kidnap him if he is resistant to temptation, I suspect cricket isn’t coming back on that list anytime in the near future. [caption id=“attachment_35005” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Google+”] [/caption] So, back to Google+ versus Facebook. I say Facebook is king of a slippery heap because I remember what happened to Orkut — the first social network where I was (and incidentally still am) a member. I remember when I first heard of Facebook, I quickly became one of the early adopters, at least in my circle of friends. I preferred Facebook to Orkut and tried to shift lock, stock and barrel, but unfortunately, my non-tech-enthusiast friends and family didn’t quite seem to share my feelings. So, I was lonely on Facebook for a while, and was forced to use Orkut too. And then the tide turned. Facebook took over, everybody abandoned Orkut, and it became like one of those ghost towns you hear about in the American Wild West. Everyone left behind what would perhaps constitute wistful memorabilia today. I’m sure there are photographs there of me on Orkut of the innocent times when I was thinner and not as well-rounded as I am today. But not everyone abandoned Orkut. Enough has also been written about how people in tier 2 cities in India still think Orkut is the coolest thing. Urban types now derisively refer to them as ‘Orkutiyas.’ The day Google+ launched I got my feet wet and am happy to report I have taken to it like a fish to water. Because I love the features Google+ entices me with, especially the ability to follow the public posts of people who would never be my friends in real life, for reasons such as them not knowing me from Adam, my lower IQ, class, ethnicity, looks, wealth, social status; take your pick. And then I can put my contacts into circles and keep you from my personal posts restricted only to close friends— for reasons such as me not knowing you from Adam, your lower IQ, class, looks, wealth, social status; take your pick. Unfortunately, my friends and family still haven’t evolved to a higher level despite the years — they are now comfortable with Facebook and are not heading to Google +. Yet. Once the peer pressure cooker comes to a boil as it did with poor Orkut, they may. Or the peer pressure cooker may never get going. Like I said, I’m resisting the temptation here to put my foot into my mouth and spout punditry. But if and when the Facebookiyas decide to make the move I’ll be waiting. With open arms. Till then, if my friends and family want to see pictures of my toddler they’ll have to go through the pain of sifting through their e-mail to find the private link to my online album that I’ve mailed them. They may be comfortable sharing their pictures with not only me but every weirdo out there, thanks to Facebook’s deliberately convoluted security settings, but not me. And perhaps thanks to all the media stories and the resultant wariness (hopefully!) they will jump soon too. Somehow, I trust Google (perhaps it’s that ‘Don’t be Evil’ slogan) and I trust Facebook….not one bit. The signs seem encouraging— just last night I was thrilled to read a friend’s status update on Facebook with the not-so-warm realisation that Facebook has surreptitiously uploaded her entire phonebook just because she used the Facebook app on her smartphone and didn’t read the fine print as she set it up. What surprises me is that she’s surprised Facebook did this, but that’s another story. But till the Facebookiyas come over, what I’ve realised is that my love affair with Twitter is waning, and Google+ is taking over that time. The only time I use Twitter lately is when I’m using a smartphone because there are still no apps (like SocialScope Lite, my favourite social app) that allow me to scroll through Google+ updates. And the reason my Twitter usage is coming down is because, despite the lack of some friends and most of my family on Google+, is that all the interesting people I’m following there have some pretty insightful things to say to the world at large in their public posts. And while micro-blogging at Twitter means they need to say it in 140 characters or less, there’s no such issue on Google+. So, I’m now getting my daily fix of interesting things to read, insights and more that feed my chronic information addiction, from Google+ rather than Twitter. So, take your time, dear Facebookiyas. I sure hope you make the move to Google+. But till you do, there’s enough there to keep me occupied. And so long Twitter— it was nice while it lasted, but both you and me knew it wasn’t going to last forever.