Facebook vs. Google+

Facebook and Google+'s video chat tools compared

 

CNET - Video chat is the big thing again, at least according to Facebook, which let loose a new video chat service yesterday. Powered by Skype, the new feature lets Facebook users start a video calls with one another while continuing to use the site.

While other video chat tools may have been built on top of Facebook's application platform, this now comes out of the box for Facebook users, old and new. The result is that Facebook's added yet another way for its 750 million users to communicate with one another.

But moving beyond the hype, the big thing you're probably wondering is how this new service stacks up to the groovy video chat tools found in Google+, the social network Google recently launched as a "field trial" (see CNET's hands-on). One of its crowning features, besides providing an alternative to Facebook, is that you can video chat with your friends in multiple ways. The answer to how the two compare? The short of it is that Facebook is simpler to use. The longer answer is that you might be happier with Google in day-to-day use.

To help illustrate that, I've delved into some things you might want to do with these services to see how they really compare. The best way to do that is with common scenarios you'd run into when wanting to video chat with someone else. Below are five I ran into when putting both services through their paces (Google+ over the past week, and Facebook's all of today).

Scenario: You want to video chat with a technologically impaired friend/family member


How it plays out on Facebook: Facebook's added a video call item to every user profile to let you (or them) start a chat from that page. If they've never used the feature before, Facebook has them download a tiny plug-in file to run, which installs without requiring a browser restart. They then click on a button that confirms they want to chat, and the video starts up.

Want to start a video chat with someone on Facebook? It's hard to miss the option to do it.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

 

Arguably the most difficult part in all this is getting someone to download that plug-in and install it. Facebook says it only takes about 10 to 20 seconds, but you're going to want to make sure your friend or family member can actually find the plug-in installer file in the first place. Luckily, modern Web browsers do a pretty good job nowadays with helping you locate what you just downloaded. Facebook also does a bit of hand-holding here, telling you what to do to first get going.

How it plays out on Google+: Pretty much the same deal as on Facebook with regards to the plug-in aspect. The big difference is in where Google surfaces the video chat option.

There are two points of entry to get a video chat going: the chat list on the left hand side and the hangouts feature. These are entirely different chat experiences, with the chat being a one-to-one experience, and the hangouts being a place where you can chat with one or more users at the same time. Between the two options, it's easier to search for, and find someone to talk with from Google+'s home page using the chat tool. Facebook arguably has the edge here in keeping its buddy list equivalent on the same part of your screen at all times--something that's useful for folks who get lost easily.

Scenario: The conversation gets awkward/boring

You suddenly don't want to talk to this person, or the conversation has stalled. Most people would call an end to it but you don't want to. How do you fill in the time?
 
How it plays out on Facebook: You're left to your own devices. For better or for worse, the video chat is just that and nothing more. You can't share anything with the other person than your words and whatever's coming from the Web cam.

How it plays out on Google+: It's the same situation in Google+'s standard video chat. But with "hangouts" there are a number of social options to spice things up. You can start watching YouTube videos either by yourself, or have others watch with you. If what Google's done with turning links into content in Google Chat is any indication, more features like this should be on the way.

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