Three short months ago, Google launched it's own social network, Google+, designed to rival the two great institutions within the social sphere - Facebook and Twitter. Until today, Google+ had been invite only, but finally the long awaited annoucement has come that anyone (yes, even riff-raff) can join in.

Now, occasionally the Ricemedia phone will ring and on the other end, a young, fresh faced (we assume) twenty-something will claim that they have a fantastic idea for a new social network, and ask how much it will cost to get it set up? We politely reply that their £250 probably won't get them too far, but wish them good luck in their quest.

The point here is: it is really, I mean really hard, to challenge an institution which has both built up astronomical capital and established themselves as a staple part of our daily cultural diet. We wake up, we check Facebook and Twitter, then we get out of bed. In that order.

So, unless you have considerably more than £250, you're probably going to struggle. Best to get a second job, move back to your parents' house, resist the pub for a few months, and keep saving until you've got something like £250 million.

What if you're Google? Well! Maybe then you'll stand a fighting chance. But you'll still have to be smart. By all accounts, Google+ is trying to combine more popular features of Facebook and Twitter. The ability to share photos, communicate quickly and easily with friends, broadcast yourself, whilst also being able to 'follow' people who otherwise don't know or care about you. The general consensus in the Ricemedia office is that people signed up to reserve their place for when it actually takes off. So far, it's been more Scientology than Christianity. But all that could soon change.

Google have tested the water, reacted to feedback, and surprisingly today's big launch represents the 100th change they have made in the last 90 days. And there's more to come – see here http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2011/09/google-101-102-103-104-105-106-107.html.

As my fellow Ricemedian Stefan points out, Google recently purchased Motorola and thus all of the patents they have built up over the years. Google seem to be accelerating into some kind of arms race with three big bullies - Apple, Facebook and Twitter. Time will tell whether they will succeed, but I get the feeling that you wouldn't want to risk missing out.

We're interested to know whether you've signed up, whether you've used it, and what you think? Please leave your comments in the space provided below.

And one more thing – please do us a favour and +1 this!

We just took on the Digital Marketing Account for Superdry. The Cheltenham based company which includes Cult retail currently has a total of 40 stores in the UK with over 50 concessions in House of Fraser.

Superdry recently launched a brand new ecommerce site for this terrific brand and our requirement was to streamline their online marketing proposition to ensure maximum exposure across a multitude of disciplines. The project covers Organic Search Engine Optimisation of the new site, Cost Per Click management across Google, Yahoo & Bing, Facebook & other Online advertising campaigns and a repositioning & branding of Social Networking collateral on Twitter & Facebook accounts. Our advanced Analytics implementation is also providing transparent measurement for true Return on Investment figures across all mediums.

Whilst it is still early days and there are many other factors involved, our first 3 weeks on the project has shown an increase in visitors of 15% along with like for like sales up over 10%.