Plus

Well Gorse Fox has been a Google+ member for about a week now. So far, he likes it.
There are Circles. Circles control who can see or participate in particular messages or discussions. Thus he can discuss things with the family that nobody else can see, similarly he can discuss technical issue with fellow geeks, without cluttering the message stream of family members.
There are Photos. The Photos extend the control of the images that you store in Picasa Web (which will soon be re-branded, apparently). Again, different photos can be shared in different circles, allowing significant granularity of control.
There is Hangout. Hangout allows you to have a group video-chat (a feature that GF has observed, but not yet tried).
There is Huddle. Huddle allows simple text messaging from an Android mobile device to members of your Circles. (Use G+ or SMS text messages).
It all integrates quite well with the rest of the Google family of products. All it really needs is wider membership. It is, in the opinion of the Gorse Fox, a much better, more secure, and “more grown up” version of Facebook.