5 ms·

Google's circle feature is incredibly useful to me. Not only will it come in handy separating my three professional spheres from each other, it is ideal for sep

Google's circle feature is incredibly useful to me. Not only will it come in handy separating my three professional spheres from each other, it is ideal for separating those from my family and friends. Each of these groups is interested in and privy to different types of posts from me, and finally, there is a way to share with all of them just what I want through a single account. Twitter's simplicity is at it's core, however. I don't think Twitter could slip a system like this in very easily... nor can facebook.

spullara 15y ago
It is already on Facebook. They are called Friend Lists. You and filter your feed and narrow publishing using them. Just like circles.
- troymc 15y ago
  Others have said this too, but it's not a matter of whether or not Facebook has that feature, it's the difference in defaults. I've been on Facebook for years and don't even know where to look for the "Friend Lists" --- and I'm a fairly technical guy who has tweaked all his Facebook privacy settings. With Google+, the circles are core, not just some tack-on optional feature. The main way to share something on Google+ is by sharing it with circles. To put it another way, the default on Facebook is to share with all "friends". The default on Google+ is to share with nobody - but the list of options starts with circles, and ends with the public. (Google+ also lets you include individuals in the list, but you have to type their name or email address, so I suspect that feature is little-used.)
- ja27 15y ago
  I use friend lists and privacy settings on about a third of my Facebook posts. I can share something silly with everyone except my coworkers, something that's only useful to people local to me, or even share to the "public" with friends of friends or everyone. If I'm counting everything, I think it takes 6 clicks and picking a list name on Facebook vs. 2 clicks and picking a circle name on Google+. So the UX is a little harder. It wouldn't surprise me if Facebook makes some tweaks there. I swear Facebook used to give you the option to view your incoming feed filtered by friend list but it's not there now. Maybe that can make a comeback.
- code_duck 15y ago
  As long as we're here, might as well note 80% of Facebook's functionality was previously found on flickr, MySpace and Twitter. That's not the point, however - it's how it's presented to prospective users and how the UI works.

spullara 15y ago

It is already on Facebook. They are called Friend Lists. You and filter your feed and narrow publishing using them. Just like circles.

troymc 15y ago
Others have said this too, but it's not a matter of whether or not Facebook has that feature, it's the difference in defaults. I've been on Facebook for years and don't even know where to look for the "Friend Lists" --- and I'm a fairly technical guy who has tweaked all his Facebook privacy settings. With Google+, the circles are core, not just some tack-on optional feature. The main way to share something on Google+ is by sharing it with circles. To put it another way, the default on Facebook is to share with all "friends". The default on Google+ is to share with nobody - but the list of options starts with circles, and ends with the public. (Google+ also lets you include individuals in the list, but you have to type their name or email address, so I suspect that feature is little-used.)
ja27 15y ago
I use friend lists and privacy settings on about a third of my Facebook posts. I can share something silly with everyone except my coworkers, something that's only useful to people local to me, or even share to the "public" with friends of friends or everyone. If I'm counting everything, I think it takes 6 clicks and picking a list name on Facebook vs. 2 clicks and picking a circle name on Google+. So the UX is a little harder. It wouldn't surprise me if Facebook makes some tweaks there. I swear Facebook used to give you the option to view your incoming feed filtered by friend list but it's not there now. Maybe that can make a comeback.
code_duck 15y ago
As long as we're here, might as well note 80% of Facebook's functionality was previously found on flickr, MySpace and Twitter. That's not the point, however - it's how it's presented to prospective users and how the UI works.