What You Need to Know About the New Google Plus Design Google's social network takes cues from Facebook and Twitter for its new look.
By Jason Fell
In case you haven't checked your Google+ account today and noticed, the social network has rolled out a new design that Google says makes it easier to use and nicer to look at.
Perhaps the first thing you'll notice something similar to what you see on Facebook: you can now assign a cover image that displays at the top of your message stream. A larger profile photo displays on the right side of the page.
In terms of navigation, Google+ has swapped out the usual static icons at the top and moved them vertically along the left side of the page. You can even drag the apps up or down to arrange them in the order you desire. If you hover your mouse over an icon, a pop-up window tells you what actions you can take. For instance, hover over Photos and a window pops up allowing you to start adding photos either from your mobile device or an album on Google+.
Other features include larger photos and a chat function -- on the far right of the page -- that allows you to strike up a conversation with people who are in your Circles.
Google+ has also added a dedicated Hangouts page as well as an Explore page that shows what's trending across the network -- much like Twitter's trends function.
Will Google+'s redesign improve your use of the social network for business? Let us know in the comments section below.
