Is Google+ being killed off?
It seems Google have finally got the message. Presumably it was posted on Facebook or Twitter, so someone actually saw it. Everyone hates Google+, and if TechCrunch are right, it seems Google have decided to finally take action.
Rather than take Google+ out to the shed and humanely put it out of it’s misery with a simple bullet between the eyes though, the company have instead apparently decided that the loathed social network is no longer a “product” but a “platform”.
What this essentially means is that the successful bits from Google+ – such as Hangouts – can be spun off and operated separately, but perhaps be powered by Google+ (so you can add friends easily) – but with future developments at the company no longer being forced to include some sort of Google+ integration.
Similarly, I’d speculate that whilst we might see an end to the “newsfeed”-like Plus homepage, profiles will remain as a central node for all of your data and interactions – not to mention being able to offer a consistent identify across Google products (from YouTube to Maps) is genuinely useful. But at least we’ll no longer be encouraged to share things on to a social network that nobody uses.
Unsurprisingly, with this news came the announcement that the man behind Google+, Vic Gundotra, was leaving the company.
Finally, one other interesting nugget to come out of the TechCrunch article was something I’d long suspected: that Google+ integration into YouTube and Gmail was used to artificially inflate the number of “active” G+ users – with a YouTube comment counting that user as a G+ user for that month’s figures, because they had posted a comment on a video. It’d be interesting to see what the real number of active users is – and whether they could all fit into a the back of a taxi, like I suspect.
So what’s next for Google? Here’s hoping they see sense and bring back the sorely missed Google Reader.
4 comments
I think that the *serious* people do not want **another** way to get what gmail, etc already provide!
Most people want a *common* way to make a comment, etc.. just like what I am doing, RIGHT NOW 🙂
– and if techdigest suddenly decided that the only way to comment is *yet another* proprietary login system, then I will NOT bother.. I have more important things to do than figure out how to track hundreds of comments, thanks! 🙂 :)…
if you have ALL day just to do it.. well enjoy…. :/
I think that the *serious* people do not want **another** way to get what gmail, etc already provide! Most people want a *common* way to make a comment, etc.. just like what I am doing, RIGHT NOW :)- and if techdigest suddenly decided that the only way to comment is *yet another* proprietary login system, then I will NOT bother.. I have more important things to do than figure out how to track hundreds of comments, thanks! 🙂 :)…if you have ALL day just to do it.. well enjoy…. :/
I love ‘journalism’ with such personal flair.
Just because YOU don’t like the platform doesn’t mean it’s ‘loathed’. Who the eff ‘loathes’ G+. Really? If you don’t like it, don’t use it. A lot of people like it and what’s strange is, i’ve seen more activity in the last few months before this announcement.
So why don’t you keep your opinions to a minimum and tell us what the hell really happened. You know, the real news.
I love 'journalism' with such personal flair.Just because YOU don't like the platform doesn't mean it's 'loathed'. Who the eff 'loathes' G+. Really? If you don't like it, don't use it. A lot of people like it and what's strange is, i've seen more activity in the last few months before this announcement.So why don't you keep your opinions to a minimum and tell us what the hell really happened. You know, the real news.
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