My Beef with Facebook (Why I've Been Using Google+)

I'm about to say something that I think might disgust a lot of social media experts and enthusiasts: I like Google+.  I started poking around in it a couple of days ago when one of my coworkers told me that a lot of her friends were using it again.  After spending some time with it, I decided that I like it a lot, and here's why:

1. It's pretty.  Isn't that a reason to like anything? :)  I really like Google's new look, and I feel this new design is indicative of the stylistic trends that I've noticed have become popular on the Internet.  It's clean, to the point, and not cluttered.

2. It's ad-free.  Speaking of that clutter, how about those Facebook ads?  They even appear in the iPhone app news feed now, and they couldn't be more obnoxious.

They're downright intrusive.  I didn't mind much when they were contained in the right sidebar within the desktop version, but now they're everywhere.  In fact, I refuse to buy Facebook ads for my Etsy businesses, The Jewelry Sheller and Hester & Pearl, because I know how invasive they are.  Some might call me a fool, say that's just the way it is, blah blah.  My feeling is that there has to be a better way to advertise within your social network.

3. Control.  With the Circles feature, I can choose exactly where I want to share the material I post.  Circles are awesome.  I can arrange my friends/family/acquaintances into categories, and when I share something, I can control who sees it down to specific, individual people.

Sure, Facebook has a similar feature, but Google+'s version of this is much more user-friendly and clear. It's as simple as that. The Facebook Groups feature is tucked away, and I never remember it's there.  I'd be curious to hear from people who actually use it.

4. The mobile app is great.  It has almost full functionality compared to the desktop version.  The only thing I wish it had was the ability to post from, or utilize business pages.  If it's there, then I haven't found it yet.  My re-entry into G+ was a Hangout (which is another really cool feature) with some friends from college, and I was able to participate from my iPhone. 

5. Communities.  This is, I think, a relatively new feature.  With Communities, users can find people with the same interests as them and share links, have discussions, etc.  Some of the groups are free to join, and some require users to "request to join."

If you'd like to read up more on G+'s features, this is a great infographic I found from Mashable.  How do you feel about Facebook?  Is it getting on your nerves?  Would you consider a switch to Google+?  I'd love to gear your thoughts.