Social Media Training for Marketers

But the fascination with Google+ as a would-be Facebook killer obscures the larger story about what Google+ offers.

Google+ is really two things. One is a destination for connecting with friends and subjects that interest them. When the press writes about Google+, it's usually in this context. But Google+ plays a second role, as a product that improves other products. Google tends to talk about this in abstract terms -- it's "a social spine;" it's a "fabric;" it "weaves" Google products together. Let's try to be a little more concrete about what Google+ is doing besides giving people a Facebook alternative.

Google+ is a single sign-on system. Until the social network launched in June 2011, users of various Google services used different identities for each.