Lots of folks are making noise about whether Google+ is already dead? They’re pointing to the fact that Google’s CEO hasn’t publicly used the service for a month and that Sergey Brin is only posting odd pictures of giraffes.
So, what about it? Is Google+ dead on arrival?
Um… no.
Google has loads at stake in the social space. Recent Nielsen data shows that U.S. Internet users spend more time on Facebook than anywhere else (see slide 6). They’re also sitting on some $39 billion in cash. I can’t see Google backing away from Google+ specifically, or social generally, anytime soon.
As we’ve seen with Buzz and Orkut and (maybe) Google+, Google has a lot to learn about social. Google+ may not be fully alive—though I’d argue it’s well-liked by the audience that is using it. But there’s no way they’re going to give up on the patient yet.
Update (9/21/2011): So, this morning, this is what’s on Google’s search page:
Google's search page ad
Doesn’t look like Google’s letting Google+ die to me. What do you think?
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For starters, I have a G+ account but have never used it; I have no intention of ever using it as I just can’t be bothered.
Google Plus might remain as a ‘social network’, however, it will never compete with Facebook. Of my 70 or so friends on Facebook, maybe 2-3 of them are actually technically inclined. They managed to figure out Facebook about x number of hours, and uploaded thousands of photos to it, and are connected to all their friend and family members. There is not a chance that they will do that all over again in Google+, not a chance.
And you could easily repeat my story over most anybody else on the planet. People’s Mom’s are even on Facebook because another family member got on there. None of them with migrate to Google+.
It’s only alive because Google has the money to keep it alive, as well as the obvious resources to generate mass exposure. And that’s not even working. It actually makes them look quite pathetic and I love every second that I get to watch them squirm.
I’d wager that the only people without a FB account are Google employees themselves. And some probably do, but under pseudonyms.