How a Google-Hulu Tag Team Threatens Facebook's Future - Adam Clark Estes

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/07/how-googlehulu-tag-team-threatens-facebooks-future/39523/

As we pointed out earlier, it's easy to think about Google+ as a Facebook clone. At first glance, it looks like any other social network with a profile picture in the upper lefthand corner and the ability to draw friend connections and share links on a wall and all that. A deeper dive into the unique features to Google+ shows that you can group friends into Circles and set up virtual Hangouts with your friends. Hangouts are basically video-enabled group chats. You set up a Hangout, send the URL to whomever you want to join, and as everybody joins you can see their faces via webcam and chat in real time. Maya Baratz at The Wall Street Journal made a timely observation as she was checking out the new features on Thursday night. "What if Google+, I dunno, partnered w Hulu or Netflix for viewers watch movies together via hangouts," Baratz said on Twitter. "Now that would ruffle FB's feathers."