Thankfully, I can customize the Streams. In the app settings, I can remove streams like Nearby and Incoming that I am not really interested in, and to make the app more useful for me.

I can tap and individual post to open it up and read it in more detail and see any comments on it. When zoomed in on a single post like this, there is a "+1" button at the upper right, and a text box at the bottom of the post if I want to weigh in with my own two cents on the post.

Posting to Google+

At the top right of the Streams view are two little icons--a check mark for checking in to Google Places, and a pencil for writing a new post. These little icons eluded me at first--leaving me wondering why the app seemed to have no means of posting new updates or checking in on Google Places.

When I tap the checkbox, I am presented with a list of the nearby locations that are already in the Google Places database. If the place I want to check into isn't already in the database, though, there doesn't seem to be any way to add a new location from the app.