Google+ has a lot in common with Facebook and Twitter, but also has the potential to be incredibly useful as a business and teamwork tool. Here are at least three reasons why you might use Google+ as a great productivity tool:
Following without Friending
Like Twitter but unlike Facebook, with Google+ you can see posts and updates from others without the other person following or friending you. This means you can get updates and see discussions from thought leaders (or your competitors or anyone who shares their posts) on any topic, making Google+ a great information gathering tool, like Twitter but with room for more lengthy updates rather than the 140-character snippets.
Already, most posts in Google+ seem to be more newsy or thought-provoking than the typical Facebook status updates, although a lot of the conversations in Google+ seem still to center around Google+ itself.
Useful Collaboration Tools
In our testing, Google+'s video chatting application, Hangouts, proves to be an excellent group video conferencing tool. Although there are lots of reasons for small businesses to use Skype, Google Hangouts' group video chat is free, and it doesn't require downloading a software client. Being able to see your meeting participants or distributed team members helps increase the sense of collaboration.
Another feature of Google+ is also group-centric: Huddle, a group texting service that allows you to text many people at once from your mobile device (currently from the Android Google+ app).
Of course, the streams and posts themselves in Google+ can be seen as collaborative, especially if used with that in mind. You can start a discussion with members of a select circle on a specific project and insert photos, links, or videos, plus get notifications instantly on any updates from your team members.
Integration Everywhere
Perhaps Google+'s greatest strength is that it's part of the ever-growing Google empire. While Facebook is commonly blocked at work, few companies block Google.
Google+ is now easily accessible from popular Google tools like Gmail and Calendar, and as it continues to be developed will likely be integrated with business-oriented tools like Google Docs. Sharing links withing Google Reader with your team members could be a huge productivity and information sharing boost.
