Will we wave goodbye to the Google Plus buzz?
Google Plus is Google’s answer to Facebook.
According to Google’s official blog post about Google+:
In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it.
Google Plus is currently on limited release for testing purposes. Which really means, about 10 super nerds have access to it.
Our Verdict
GooglePlus lacks the cool factor that made Gmail a success. Instead, it resembles one of those unwanted bland corporate gifts you get from an overly enthusiastic HR manager.
GooglePlus is not that different to Facebook. The key difference is Facebook has over 590 million more customers.
Needless to say, Google Plus is here to stay or least for Google’s sake we hope so. It’s unlikely it will fail like Google Buzz (parody ad) or Google Wave (Eric Schmidt On Google Wave’s Death).
Google Plus is a natural next step for most people who already use many Google products e.g. gmail, docs, apps analytics..etc.. It will also help trick customers into spending more time within the Google network of sites and products. It will achieve this through the use of new distractions (additional real time notifications) which will encourage further time wasting (I mean engagement) e.g. video conferencing with strangers. If nothing else, this will help Google eat in to the time their customers spend on Facebook.
There’s no doubting the talent of Google’s engineers however Google’s social strategy over the last five years is certainly questionable. Google is in danger of a serious meltdown if Google Plus fails to work.Â
If you want to learn more about Google Plus we’d recommend you read this article What is Google Plus? and check out Boing Boings Google Plus Hangout video. Hangout is one of Google+’s new tools worth keeping an eye on. For an alternative verdict watch this The Daily Conversation video “Why Google Plus will succeed” and Robert Scoble’s post “Why yo momma won’t use Google+“.
We’re going to track Google+ over the coming months and we’ll keep you posted.
What do you think think, is GooglePlus just another place to post?
Twitter Reaction
Chris Kaufman @kauf
Detroit
Candace Newton @Candynewton
Cape Town, South Africa
Ashley Kolodziej @ashleykolodziej
Boston, MA
London
Toooo many circles! RT @RichQuigley RT @fluffylinks: what do you think of Google+? Here’s our verdict http://t.co/IihRGuT thoughts?
Will Google+ succeed? http://t.co/QTG4sox Cool article by @fluffylinks
Will Google+ succeed? http://t.co/43g429E