The question "Can Google beat Facebook?" might not be too precise. This is not about one site against another one. Google bigger than that. The reason why Google calls "Google+ Project" is that Google+ will become a central part of Google's overall identity. It will reshape the company.
So the more appropriate question is "Can Google+ beat Facebook?" If it is placed like that, the contest appears to be much more balanced.
Of course Facebook has a great beginning, but there are some good reasons for people to seriously leave Facebook for Google+. There are at least nine reasons as quoted from PCWorld.
1. Integration with Google services
The largest portion owned by Google to attract people use Google+ is the integration. This means that Google will build Google+ features and equipments to almost all its online services, from documents to video search. Google+ already integrated into almost all Google products.
This allows you to monitor all Google+ events (message, updates, etc.) when sharing content with friends without leaving the Google service you're using. Millions of people use Google free services (Gmail, Documents, Search, etc..), and with the integration of these services with Google+ might be easy for someone to leave Facebook.
2. Management better friendships
Google give the right way for the concept of "Circle" which appropriate in our real life. We have many kind friends, and we interact and communicate with them in different ways. Facebook Groups feature allows you to create a special group of friends, but compared to what done on Google +, it seems impractical. Besides, Facebook is still a new feature groups (additional), while the Circle is the cornerstone of Google+'s platform.
3. Better mobile applications
If you are a user of Android, you can get content from your phone to a social platform easier, cleaner, and more functionality with Google+'s mobile applications. These applications had been steady, but Google will still seek and find ways to make your Android become a member of the body of your Google+ social platform. Google hopes to use its Android user base as large as a part against Facebook, that its mobile application though looks pretty but a bit clunky to use.
4. Easier to find things to be divided
5. You can retrieve your data
Facebook is known less reliable to handling personal data. Suppose you were forced to make certain parts of your personal data appear to the public, and it is very difficult to permanently delete your Facebook profile. On the other hand, Google makes it possible for you to retrieve all the data you placed on Google+ then leave it. This is done through the Google+ apps called "Data Liberation". With just a few clicks you can download data from your Picasa Web Albums, Google Profile, Google+ stream, Buzz and Contact.
6. Better photographs labelling
When viewing images on Google+ you can labelling the name of the people, like on Facebook. You make a small square around their faces, then type in their name in the box below or choose one of the guessed name by Google+. But there is a big difference in where Google takes the privacy aspects of the image label. When you labelling someone, there will be a notes like this "Adding a label on it should tell people that you label it. They can be related photos and albums". On the other hand, Facebook does not make an effort to warn people that they have been labeled (perhaps only in a photograph that is not good) and give them a direct opportunity to remove the label.
Google has also decided to slightly embarrassed to use facial recognition software, which now use Facebook to automatically identify people in photos are uploaded to the album the user.
7. Chat group feature is very cool
Google+ has a feature can beat Facebook in the affairs of chat. It's easy to create a special video chat group using the Google+ Hangouts features, and create a special group for the chat seems to be something natural and fun to do in social networking. A similar case was conducted by Huddle mobile application that allows users Android launch group text chat. Facebook does not offer this device.
8. More secure for sharing content
Privacy prompts has been long time ago asking the social networking site to allow the user to specify the level of privacy of any content they shared, rather than using a list of initial settings that determine all the shared content. Google seems to hear the request, and build these capabilities into Google+. For example, if I share an article or upload images from camera, Google+ gives me the circle's option of friends where I want to share content. It is huge Google+'s advantage.
9. Google better to care your personal data
Running a social networking, it's all about responsibility to take care of users' personal information. Facebook is a fast moving young company that has been proven cavalier in its movement, is less concerned about the privacy of user data, and easily accessible to others. On the other hand, Google is a much more mature company that looks much more reliable than Facebook. The most part, Google has been operating under the slogan "Do Not Be Evil"!