Have you heard about Google+ yet? OK, but have you taken the time to check it out? Or try it out?

If not, let me be the first to introduce you to this growing addition to the social media world… and tell you that its intent is to rival Facebook for our all-purpose social networking allegiance.

I found this 4-minute video that does a pretty good job of describing what Google+ is all about:

Previously I posted on our need to have A Pastoral Presence Online (read that by clicking here). And the more I think about it, the more I believe that a good portion of our work needs to consider our approach to connecting and ministering in the online world. I will always believe (and therefore encourage us) that what we do online needs to move us towards face-to-face relationships in the real world; but I believe there to be increasing potential for meaningful ministry, outreach, encouragement and connecting (in positive, non-threatening ways) through the world of social media.

I’ve been playing around with Google+ for just over a year now… and I continue to be impressed with the evolution of G+. In fact, yesterday Google+ came out with their iPad version (beating Facebook to an app that is iPad friendly).

I continue to like the concept of the “circles” and how it allows you to see, and share, with members of specific people/groups based on what it is you want to do.

The capacity for video chats, or “Hangouts,” as a part of this platform has been a fun thing to experiment with. You can read more about that here.

I also like the clean, simple look and feel of it — in iPhone, iPad and Internet versions. Now, this could very easily change as Google+ continues to add components (and likely ads) to its user-face, but for now I like it.

The biggest downside I still experience is the lack of integration with Facebook and Twitter — which I’m sure is intentional on Google’s part — but makes updating statuses a bit cumbersome.

What I’m most curious about at this point is: given what we’ve learned about social networking through our use of Facebook, Twitter, etc. over the past few years, I wonder what new ideas YOU have for ministry that are generated by exploring this new tool?

What do you think?

• What positives do you see Google+ providing you in your ministry efforts?
• What are the drawbacks of Google+?
• How many social media tools are too many? What would you consider giving up if you decide Google+ is worth your time?

Thanks for taking a moment to share your thoughts in the comment section below!