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The future of Search is changing. And we are pleased to see it. Google launched Google+ on June 28, 2011 with an invite-only beta. Of course there was immediate hype of epic proportions as people beat down the doors trying to get an invite to the latest "social network". Many have been billing this as a "Facebook Killer", or opining that Google is out of it's league, just adding one more option to an already over-crowded marketplace of social networks clamouring for our daily attention. This voice has been fuelled by people who stand to lose a lot from Google's presence.

But the truth is, Google is not just whimsically releasing another social network to compete with Facebook. They are transforming their search engine. Instead of being run on algorithms, it will be run on people.

We’re transforming Google itself into a social destination at a level and scale that we’ve never attempted — orders of magnitude more investment, in terms of people, than any previous project.  Vic Gundotra, SVP Engineering at Google.

The idea of the name Google+ is that this is not a new product being offered by Google, but a project that makes all of Google more social. Google+People. We can look forward to seeing all of Google's properties, from Google Search, News and Images, to Blogger, Docs, Calendars, Gmail, Chrome, YouTube, and more - all connected in one big social mashup.

So let's take a look at it!

The best way to get the hang of it is with a great interactive tour the Google team whipped up. http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/+/demo/

Here are some videos that give a run down.

Overview

Circles

Mobile (Android and iPhone apps now available!)

Hangouts

Sparks

Instant Upload

Business Accounts

Google has announced that they are working on a way for businesses to create accounts. At Visual Obsession we are working all of this into social media strategies we are preparing for our clients right now. We're excited about connecting with all of you better using Google+. See you soon!