Wake me when Google + is ready for prime time

I don't normally blog on technology, but since I've gotten a chance to try out Google +, and others have not, and I have a few friends who swear Google + is the awesome, I thought I'd offer some perspective.

For starters, Google + is very derivative.  It intended to be just like Facebook,  geared for folks who prefer the Google brand, with virtually all the same basic features under different names.  I'm generally dismissive of things that rip off the invention of others--though many products (examples: cars, computers, cell phones) have been improved by second generation imitators.  However, I see no improvement whatsoever in Google + over Facebook.  Let me break down a few reasons why.

• The "Network" for Social Networking: I use Facebook primarily to share articles (often on politics) with my friends and other connections to spread the word.  This includes my 700 Facebook "friends" and 3,000 plus folks who "like" my employer.  Spreading my wisdom will be a bit slower with the 16 folks who included me in their "circle" on Google +. 
  
  I also like to interact with real life friends on Facebook, and see what they are up to.  A large number of my friends are on Facebook. In fact, I have more Facebook friend requests that I need to accept or reject than total contacts on Google.
  
  
• Ease of Sharing: Google + has a "+1" button, mimicking Facebook's "like" button.  As mentioned above, I tend to share articles.  On this topic, there is a good PC World Infographic comparing features in Google + and Facebook,  a Wall Street Journal article on how Google made Facebook respond to Google +, and a PennLive blog post on how to use Google +.  All of them have a prominent Facebook Like/Recommend/Share button.  None of these articles on Google + has a Google share option. 
  
  
• RSS Feeds: I blog quite a bit.  I like to share my blogs in a variety of areas, including Facebook and Twitter.  Using RSS, I can post automatically to both my Facebook page and Twitter Account.  In fact, shortly after I click "post" on this particularly blog entry, it will appear on both.  It will not appear on my Google + account, as no such functionality exists yet.
  
  
• Games: Other than sharing articles, I also play games on Facebook, especially Jeopardy.  I play Jeopardy a lot.  But I can't play Jeopardy on Google +.
  


• Google Wave: One of my friends most insistent on getting everyone to "switch over" to Google + was also insistent I need to use Google Wave for everything.  Shortly after I got on Google Wave, it was buried next to Jimmy Hoffa.  I'm skeptical that Google + will stand the test of time.
  
• Google's Big Government rent-seeking: Google has poured millions of dollars into politics, supporting mostly liberal candidates (including heavy support for President Obama).  They lobby for internet regulation (that would benefit Google) in the form of "net neutrality" (with exemptions for applications, i.e., for Google) and to get tens of millions in government contracts.  (Note there was a Blogspot blog I found just yesterday on Google's rent-seeking that is now gone, which I find curious, as Google owns Blogspot).
  
  Granted, many companies engage in lobbying for their own benefit, and Facebook is no bastion of libertarianism.  And it makes no sense to avoid a good product because of the politics of the company or its employees--I use many Google products already.  But Google + is not a good product, and it seems the only benefit of Google + is the Google brand: a brand I have no love for.

Now a defender of Google would tell you that Google + is only in "Field Testing" stage, and much of my critique could be moot once Google adds features and reaches critical mass.  But as of now, Google + is underwhelming, and contrary to some of my real-world friends, I will not encourage others (real-world or cyber contacts) to switch over.