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. 

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

@fluffylinks Your post sums up my thoughts perfectly. Too many users are already heavily invested in Facebook as their primary social graph.

June 30, 2011 3:06 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@kauf

Chris Kaufman

@fluffylinks Great job creating hype that's for sure & clever integration.. But I don't see a strong enough USP to convert all Facebookers.

June 30, 2011 3:48 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@Candynewton

Candace Newton

@fluffylinks I'm actually really liking #googleplus so far for finding interesting internet content. Easier/more accurate than StumbleUpon.

June 30, 2011 4:54 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@ashleykolodziej

Ashley Kolodziej

@fluffylinks PS: "encourage further time wasting (I mean engagement)" = genius :) :)

July 1, 2011 4:58 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@nessclick

Vanessa Hartley

Tags: Boing Boing, Buzz, Eric Schmidt, Google, Google Buzz, Google Plus, Google Wave, Informative, Marketing Insights, Robert Scoble, Social Strategy, The Daily Conversation, TheDailyConversation, Wave, Web 2.0