As you roam your dusty trail of cubicles over the next few weeks, you may notice something a bit different.  Not immediately apparent, but mixed in among the bored masses passing the day on Facebook, YouTube, CollegeHumor and the like, you may catch just a glimmer of hope, life, something better in the eyes of a few.  And you’ll know, Google+ has arrived.

Yes, Google has begun to roll out Google+, their latest grab at the social media crown.  Not their first, but, in its blatant emulation of Facebook’s look and feel, it’s probably–let’s face it–their best shot.  To the menial office worker with 4 to 6 hours of down time each day, any new chance at a time suck is worth a try.  We all remember Google Wave and Buzz, and trying our damndest to find something cool about them.

But Google+ is different!  Different from before, different from Facebook.  You have these features, for instance:

Sparks: Basically a search engine built into Google+, so you can directly post that funny cone-ing video, rather than opening a whole new separate tab to find and link to it.

Hangouts: This is a function to let your friends know your webcam is on and you’re ready to chat, I guess.  Sounds way too much like Chatroulette for me to want to investigate any further, and the name “Hangout” doesn’t help.

Huddles: Apparently a mobile group chatroom for Android OS phones.  I am so far off from an Android phone, or any phone introduced in the last 5 years, clearly it’s a mistake that I was even let onto Google+ in the first place.  This may be a cool feature; in any case it’s too cool for me.

Circles: I do like this idea; it’s a way of grouping your Google+ connections according to how you know them, who they are, etc.  For instance, you can have a Circle called “Friends,” one called “Redhead Chicks From Work I Want To,” another for “Redhead Chicks From Work I Would,” and so on.  Luckily, people cannot see what Circles you’ve added them to.

And there you have it, a tidy summary of everything you need to know for your newest instrument de procrastination.  If you aren’t yet one of Google’s chosen few, have no fear; soon enough you, too, will be frantically Alt-Tabbing your way out of Google+, just as you have so many sites before.  Me, I’ll be the guy waiting to start a Hangout.