What is Google+ and why should I use it?

Part social network, part beta system

Google+ is something of a black sheep in the world of social media. Even as a young network of three years that has grown faster than many of the current leaders, Google+ has been disparaged and shunned by much of the public for the moves Google has made with it. Google+ has long required users to use their real name as their screen name, a move which was made even more unpopular when Google announced that YouTube comments would take place through Google+. That requirement is now gone, much to the delight of SamsungKnight1134.

Recently, the departure of the public face of Google+, Vic Gundotra, led many to call the network dead. These naysayers claim Google+ doesn't work, it doesn't make sense, and that it's a ghost town. I'm here to tell you that they're wrong. It is alive, it absolutely works, and you should almost definitely use it. How do I know?

Because I wouldn't be writing here without it.

source: androidcentral