Facebook just announced with a blog post and big media splash that it’s now mimicking some Google+ features by letting users edit posts, and making it easier to control who sees their updates and view their profile as others do.

Well, actually, Facebook’s post makes no mention of its nascent rival from the search giant, but it’s pretty clear from today’s announcement that the current king of social network and online identity is paying close attention to Google’s attempt to create a different model for online identity and sharing. Google+ has done more than its share of mimicking Facebook — the stream and the inclusion of games. But it has also taken steps to differentiate itself from Facebook, most clearly in rejecting the binary Friend model at the heart of Facebook.

This wouldn’t be the first time Facebook has made big changes to keep up with a rival. In December 2009, Facebook tried to shift its users to posting status updates visible to the entire internet, as a way to compete with Twitter’s success.

This go-round it’s Google+ that’s being mimicked.

Here’s a rundown of some of the new features:

Facebook says the new features will roll out to all users in the next few days. Which is a plus.