Google goes social
Drew Olanoff, writing for The Next Web:
“Social” isn’t a word that people would have used to describe Google until Google+ launched, but just like everything else on the web, the times they are a-changin’.I still can't use "social" to describe Google, even with the addition of Google+ -- it's just not a desirable way to socialize. Sure, they put many great ideas into the network (most of which were stolen). It's not like they're not putting enough effort into the social, dare I say, experiment, but rather that they don't know what social is. Mark Zuckerberg got it right, as much as it pains me to say it. I've never liked Facebook because of all the undesirable drama that circulates there, though it seems that many others do enjoy the social network. Google+ came around too late. It sported some great ideas, but then Google had to put their privacy into question and mess things up. I'm not seeing how this social network will ever prove to be a lucrative thing for the search engine -- they just don't have it in them to make it one.
Olanoff is right: times are changing. Sadly, there are still not that many "users" on Google+ who actually use the network because most people prefer Facebook or Twitter. I personally prefer Twitter, though I have tried out Google+ before. For one thing, Google+ is just too crowded and feature-packed. There are places where many features are welcomed, but Google went too far here. They think their network is simple, but it's by far the opposite. If I were to use it as my main source of communication with friends, then I'd rather use the mobile web app on my notebook than the regular web interface. It lacks features, sure, but at least it's not confusing and oversized.
It's obvious that, if more of my friends were to use Google+, then I would probably be more fond of it, but they don't. I only know one person who uses it as her main method of social networking. There's no reason for me, or any other individual, to ever visit the place. And if said individual does, then I assure you Google, they will jump ship after less than 30 minutes of use. If Google were to provide us with actual statistics of how long people spend on the network, excluding chat time, then we'd find out how well the network is actually doing.
Google has tried very hard to get users to use the network by integrating it into their main search page, Gmail, and other Google products. This isn't bad, but it just goes to show that they really do have to try a little harder to get users to actually visit Google+. The whole integration thing gets on my nerves, but it can be very useful to some.