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The creators of Google+ say it should not be compared to Facebook or a social network. It goes ambitiously way beyond that.

See Mashable's article:
Google+ Creators: Stop Calling It a Social Network

sub'd for a later read. But I say my sweet pituty it isn't a social network....

I think they are trying to set themselves apart as creating something entirely different. And in the end, they may just do it. But since the beginning they were doing what Facebook was doing (and Facebook has been adapting what Google+ was doing). I think it's a little late for rebranding now, but we'll see.

They are bringing out features that Facebook lacks, so maybe they are going for that whole "blue ocean" mindset of trying to create a new market. Maybe instead of positioning themselves as a failing social network, they're trying to position Google+ as your "passport to the web." By bringing access to the wide variety of features/products that technically steps outside the realm of a traditional social network.

If you read that Mashable interview, "passport to the web" is right on, Eric.

Mashable: "Google+ is simply Google’s way of taking its many disparate services — search, YouTube, Maps, etc. — and making them more relevant by incorporating the user’s personal data. If some of those services then end up rubbing up against what Facebook offers, so be it."

I think they are trying to do something different. The problem is, in the beginning they put themselves out there as a social network, so it's a matter of reshaping the mindset.

But, man, I know a lot of us have what Adam likes to call "social media fatigue" and we're tired of having to log in to all these different places.

I actually didn't read the article, I just threw that out there from what i've seen lol. If Google wants to win the fight against Facebook they must re-position Google+ in that light. Fortune had a great article back in... February I think (I'll check on that later, I have a subscription), which discusses the Google Vs Facebook battle. Google will lose badly if they try to directly compete with Facebook, so the only other option is to create a new market (blue ocean market)

Facebook offers a type of "passport" experience through other ratings/review sites like Citysearch or Insiderpages. Yelp! used to allow you to log in through FB, but now its strictly through Yelp!. Since Apple and Yelp! are merging maps interfaces (yelp! being the review/business finding feature), it makes me wonder if Apple will ever launch a product to dive into this "social media" battle. Would they create their own interface/network or simply leave that battle to Google and FB?

Google+ is different because there are so many different tools, but it's still a social network with a lot of bells and whistles. You say tomato...

That could be the problem--maybe people aren't sure what to do with Google+. It seems disingenuous to say it's not a social network.