Google+

[kmax]

Anybody else get in and try it out yet? Thoughts?

Going to be tough to get a new social network going as it is all about a critical mass of people being on there or you won't keep using it. This could have a chance simply due to the large number of gmail/google users already but between orkut/wave/buzz google has already shown they aren't to adept and molding their business to the social side.

I will say after playing with it for a day that they have done some cool things with Google+ and if they can get the people to use it, it could be really good. The circles makes the the concept of keeping your different social circles separate actually useful unlike the lists thing on facebook which always seemed cumbersome to me even though it is essentially the same. The possibilities that they have with some of the other parts like sparks and the hangout chat/video chat could be really big. And as with anything else that google does, the mass of other sites and platforms that they have that they can easily integrate into this (android, youtube, etc.) makes it attractive as well. But in the end it still mainly comes down to users.