Pilot

Hey guys, this is my first post and I'm hoping to get off a good start.
Let me give you guys an intro of myself first. I am NOT a scientific dude. I am NOT a tech genius. In fact I'm pursuing commerce as my career, but I am extremely interested in technology. I am also probably younger that most of the people who are going to read this. I am 19 years old and I hail from India. Not a country which is exactly known for its technological accomplishments.
Anyways let me commence.The first product I would like to discuss is Google+.
Google+ was released roughly around two weeks back and it has been making waves(pun,anyone?) ever since. I was fortunate enough to obtain a pass within a week and I have been using it extensively ever since. Now you may be wondering how? Cause the most complaint there has been on the lines "What do I do there? There IS no one else!". True. But I have around 30 friends on and 15 of them are using it quite a bit. So, the inevitable question:Is it better than Facebook?
Yes and no. Google+ is probably Google's 4th attempt to crack the social networking code and it has learnt from its mistakes.
The home page resembles Facebook to some extent. You have a left pane which shows Stream(like News Feed),Sparks(more on this later) and Chat. On the right, you have people in your circles(friends),suggestions(taken out of your gmail contact list).Below that, we have the option for Hangout(also to be discussed a little later).An option to get Google+ on mobile(only Android right now) and lastly to send Google+ invites.