Here's the Google+ right column. It's getting awfully crowded / busy and its one large promotion for Google+ functions / features: - Google's universal notification header - a floating YouTube search tool (when clicked it expands and plays videos in a mini-browser) - my friends and suggested uesrs to add to circles - Google+ invitations (although anyone can now register) - ability to start a Hangout (Google+'s best feature) - ability to create a Google+ page - Google+'s "Games" center and links to popular / featured games
I am not sure how I feel about. Clearly it differs from Facebook and that's in part because Google is still fighting for adoption and engagement. For instance, it is more beneficial for Google to promote tools than it is to insert ad units. However, this is essentially a vertical-ized version of the horizontal navigation bar that rests atop every page. It's cluttered, redundant and frankly ineffective at doing what Google wants it to do: drive deeper usage. For all the criticism that Facebook's Ticker has received, it is clearly a more powerful usage driver than this is.
