There appears to be a lot of hype at the moment concerning the new Google+ service from, well, Google.  Is it really the “Facebook killer” that everyone’s been waiting for, or is the hype surrounding it just that?

Currently, Google+ is in limited beta so you (à la Google Wave) need an “invite” to get on it – which apparently I don’t have.  At the moment, I have no idea whether I even want an invite – after all, to quote the words of this xkcd cartoon — “it’s not Facebook but it’s like Facebook.”

So, those of you that know me also know that I cancelled my Facebook account (mainly because I read the Terms of Service and didn’t really like what I read); so what is it (if anything) that makes Google+ worth signing up for, that Facebook doesn’t have?  Should I even bother?  After all, both companies have one thing in common, and that is that they are making money out of your personal data (and mine as well).  And this is the sticking point for me; whether I offer my data to Facebook or Google or anyone else, someone else is making money out of that data.  Perhaps Google may take a slightly better attitude to data privacy, maybe they won’t.

Will it be successful? Will it overtake Facebook? Does anyone even care? Who knows — I haven’t even got an invite!  (But, I suppose, if I ever do decide to sign up, I can always cancel my account just like I did for their main competitor…)