I want my Google+! Here's why.

Some of you remember the classic "I want my MTV!" ad campaign. In my view, it ranks with Apple's 1984 commercial as one of advertising's all-time classics. Both ads launched revolutions -- the music video age and the GUI age -- although I would argue that MTV's campaign outperformed Apple's in capturing the zeitgeist of a generation.

I'm thinking about this today because "I want my Google+!" And I'm not alone. Everywhere I turn, people are asking me if I have an invite. I don't. Like them (and probably you), I have been asking everyone I know if they have an invite, and to invite me.

Last week I received several invitations to Google Plus, but (BWAA!) Google won't let me in. Here's what I see:

Shades of the Fail Whale. But in truth, this is not a #FAIL or a problem with linear scalability. Google is rolling Plus out slowly, as it has done for other platforms in the past, notably Gmail, Wave, and Buzz.

It's a smart approach. It allows Google to test the platform in the real world, identify and address issues that arise, and also -- by virtue of its invitation-only publicity shtick -- generate hysteria that approaches the level of an iPhone launch or, back in the 80s, the launch of MTV.

It seems to me that one of the most important things Google got right with Plus had nothing to do with the technology, and everything to do with who it launched it with. It appears Google strove to target only the most influential techies, bloggers, and press with its first wave of invitations.

That's smart on two levels. One, Google+ embodies a new social networking workflow. The digerati are open to exploring new solutions to old problems, even if the new approach is more complex or takes some getting used to. Your parents, on the other hand, are not open to trying new software things. Learning Facebook and building their network was an accomplishment they're not ready to abandon. And Plus doesn't have Farmville, anyway.

Two, if the digerati like what they see, a massively positive reaction wave is guaranteed to echo across the social Web. That buzz eventually reaches your parents, who either follow the pack and give Google+ a try, or are pulled into a circle or other Plus feature by their more technically proficient friends in their social network.

There's a third reason I want my Google+, and everyone who is serious about social media and social networking does, too. Google+ has succeeded where Wave and Buzz failed, because Google is following the pattern that Microsoft made famous. Never give up, and the third time's a charm. We saw this with Microsoft Windows, which was a market disaster until version 3, and many other Microsoft efforts. Now we're seeing it with Google and social networking.

I guess that's appropriate, as Google has absorbed a lot of Microsoft's DNA over the years, including ex-Microsoftie Vic Gundotra, who heads up Google+. Then again, there's some potent Apple DNA in the Google+ project, including the software wizard who designed much of the original Macintosh system software, Andy Hertzfeld.

Will the Plus buzz last? It won't be difficult for Facebook to replicate or improve upon Google+ features. There's no breakthrough science here. But the real question is not whether Facebook or Google+ has the better (or easier, or more powerful) software or feature set, or some scale advantage (i.e., Facebook's massive user base vs. Google+'s nascent audience). The real question is, will users prefer Facebook's social silo to Google+'s social layer atop the Web?

I haven't used Google+ yet, but I already prefer its model to Facebook. Once I'm in, I plan to create Circles for all of my social network's special interests: dogs, tech, social media, PR, journalism, programming, photography, family, news, and so on. Huddles, Hangouts, and other connections will naturally follow. I've never considered attempting that type of topical segregation on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, even though all of these services allow the creation of special interest groups and lists.

Why has Google+ won me over before I've even used it, where my other social networking platforms have not? Why are so many people screaming "I want my Google+!" before they have even seen the product? It goes beyond the buzz of Google's successful launch. It's because Google+ is not a silo. It's a logical layer woven into the Google ecosystem, which so many of us are heavily invested in.

Personally, I have a fully fleshed out Google profile, 400G of Google storage, and use Chrome, Google search, Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Reader, Blogger, Voice, Groups, Picasa, Webmaster Tools, Analytics, AdWords, Android, Desktop, iGoogle, YouTube, Books, News, and many other Google products.

Google is, essentially, my cloud computing platform. And soon, it will be my social cloud computing platform. I won't have to login to a proprietary service and manage siloed groups or lists. Instead, my social network will be woven into the very fabric of my computing, work, home, and life experience. That is Google+'s unique value add.

As I was writing this, I received an IM from one of my colleagues. His suggestion? Let's replace Yammer with a Google+ Circle.

Like MTV before it, Google+ has captured the zeitgeist of the social media generation. It won't kill Facebook. But there is now a "big four" in social networking: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. My guess is they will all coexist, but that Google+ will ultimately own the digerati and a good share of their friends and families.

Update 7/8/11: My invitation worked this morning. I am on Google+ and setting up my circles and whatnot.