Facebook adds Google+ "circles" function to their arsenal

[Ace]

Facebook began rolling out smart friend lists to users, in what is seen as a response to Google+ circles. The new tool makes it easier for you to group Facebook friends into categories such as close friends, acquaintances or work colleagues, and it should be live for most users by the end of the week, Facebook said in a blog post.

Some of the new smart lists on Facebook will be automatically created, including work, school, family and city (based on your location). You will be able to add or remove friends from these lists manually, as well as create your own lists, such as close friends and acquaintances. As with Google+, each list will have its own news feed, too.

With the close friends list you will see everything a person posts in the News Feed, while the acquaintances list will only show important postings, like relationship statuses or location changes. People you add to the restricted list will only see your public posts (another new feature introduced recently).

Google+ is the hottest contender for Facebook’s social networking crown. It has garnered more than 25 million users since it was launched as a limited beta in June. Among other features it received praise for, Google+ uses circles to easily organize your friends, so you could still have people following you (Twitter-style) and share things with friends or selected groups (Facebook-style).

Facebook Takes Lesson from Google+, Revamps Friends ListsHowever, Facebook’s smart friend lists are not a direct rip-off Google+. Facebook’s Blake Ross, a product director, explained in a blog post that the smart friend lists are just improvements of the lists feature, which has existed for several years, but was hard to find (deep in the old confusing privacy settings) and clumsy and time-consuming to organize.

By automating most of the smart lists, Facebook has one-upped Google+, as you don’t have to add someone to a circle/list every time you have a new friend/follower. Facebook’s lists will also feature suggestions, which should make it easier to add the right friends without too much effort.[/p]

Source

Oh Facebook, you so competitive.... I've yet to use this myself, but it seems like an okay function...

 

[LightyKD]

It would help if we could separate our Facebook games from our Facebook apps.

 

[SamAsh07]

Time for Google+ to sue Facebook

It just shows that Google+ is slowly becoming a threat to Facebook in their opinion

 

[shadowmanwkp]

I don't use facebook anymore and I never used google+ . I only tweet once in a blue moon. I don't really get what the point is of sites like facebook, people brag about how many friends they have that they don't even know, or brag about what facebook games they can play...

On topic: I think google+ will win in the end, google+ got a lot of hype, while facebook has a lot of hard time innovating the platform. Since I left facebook about a few months ago, it still looks the damn same.

 

[SamAsh07]

I don't use facebook anymore and I never used google+ . I only tweet once in a blue moon. I don't really get what the point is of sites like facebook, people brag about how many friends they have that they don't even know, or brag about what facebook games they can play...

On topic: I think google+ will win in the end, google+ got a lot of hype, while facebook has a lot of hard time innovating the platform. Since I left facebook about a few months ago, it still looks the damn same.

Yeah I think so too that Google+ will eventually toppple Facebook (FB had its run, time to pass on the throne to someone else).

Facebook games lol, pfft Idk when people will realize those games suck. They need to be exposed to Console gaming more. No wait, more exposure to Wii

since Facebook users want Casual games.

 

[Kamiyama]

I just want my Angry Birds to Facebook. Zuma Blitz is getting old.

 

[BORTZ]

I just want my Angry Birds to Facebook. Zuma Blitz is getting old.

get out.

I dont know, i feel like Facebook has a much bigger grasp on the market, but eh. Google is really expanding on all fronts. it would be nice to have a Google everything.

 

[Qtis]

MySpace. 'Nuff said.

I don't know if it's Google+ that will eventually topple FB, but it will happen. There are some things that eventually happen, but when and where is another things..


-Qtis

 

[FireGrey]

imagine how doomed we would all be if facebook got sold to a terrorist..

 

[SamAsh07]

Facebook = iOS - Too much hyped and overused crap.
Google+ = Android - Few use it eventhough it's a gem.
Twitter = Symbian - It was great when it started.
MySpace = Windows OS - Slowly getting there.

 

[machomuu]

Does anyone even know what Google+ is? I mean, it's really not that popular from what I've seen.

 

[Snorlax]

Facebook = iOS - Too much hyped and overused crap.
Google+ = Android - Few use it eventhough it's a gem.
Twitter = Symbian - It was great when it started.
MySpace = Windows OS - Slowly getting there.

I like how the mediums used by the majority of the world all have negative connotations attached, yet Google+ "[is] a gem."
Functionality persuades a population, the population persuades the individual; services aren't going to be used or appreciated by singular people until the majority of society use them, regardless of how many conglomerated circles are available to disembowel your friends into.

 

[ProtoKun7]

Google+ = Android - Few use it eventhough it's a gem.

This analogy perhaps doesn't quite apply now; Android has quite a lot of the smartphone market share at the moment.