Google Take Another Step Towards Edging Out Google+
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| wersm.com |
We've predicted the looming death of Google+ several times on here and it is still coming, we promise, it's just taking a while. Rather than just heralding the end of the wavering social network and having done with it, Google are gradually stripping away any need to have it to access any other Google platforms, making it obsolete. The latest step in this deconstruction has been the removal of any connectivity between Google+ and YouTube. You can just make a standalone YouTube account now as before and no other Google services require any kind of G+ subscription either.
There's nothing inherently wrong with Google+, it's just kind of unnecessary now. Google have tried numerous times in the past to get a social network off the ground, but it's never taken. Google Buzz lasted less than a year, Google Friend Connect lasted around 4 and the Brazilian-run Orkut lasted an impressive decade from 2004 to 2014. Since Facebook rose to prominence they've been trying desperately to move in on that territory but the fact is that Google doesn't really need a dedicated social network, the connectivity between all their existing platforms acts as one anyway. They're slowly beginning to realise this.
The separation of Google Photos was another sign of the transition, photo sharing was never a particularly big feature of Google+ but the app more or less eliminated any need for it at all. Users dedicated to using the service in a promotional context have been steadily migrating away from it for months, if not years, as it became increasingly apparent that it wasn't helping to raise views as much as it ought to be. The only real lasting evidence of it with regard to sharing is the little '+n' counters you see next to Blogger posts.
Google has always succeeded by having things that nobody else has and then connecting them seamlessly, rather than doing them better. About the only example of them coming into a game late and emerging on top is Chrome (and even that is debatable). More to the point, their power has always been more serious and work-focused whilst social media platforms are about, yes, social interaction. When was the last time you caught up with a friend over Gmail? Google+ will be gone soon, and that's fine, there are plenty of other failed experiments in Google's history, but they are still the most influential company on the internet. They probably always will be.
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UPDATE 08/08/2022
UPDATE 08/08/2022
Users: 200 million (2019)
Callum Davies
Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop.
Google Take Another Step Towards Edging Out Google+
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Saturday, August 01, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Saturday, August 01, 2015
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Unknown
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