What happened to Google+?
Much like its search engine, Google’s social network platform Google+ is streamlined and elegant. Users can connect with people they know, follow pages they like, and share stories, pictures, etc all within a social network not bogged down with ads or spam posts. And to keep you updated with the latest news as well as top posts of what you follow, “Google+ gives you a page of “highlights” which it chooses algorithmically.” Sure, Google+ sounds like a great social networking platform! It sounds like a more elegant form of Facebook…only without the people.
Therein lies the crux of the problem. Although Facebook was released in 2004 and was used by just Harvard University students, by 2006 it had expanded to allow anyone over the age of 13 to register as a user. When Google first released Google+ in 2011, it was also released to only a smaller group of avid Google users. Users outside of this group of people could only register if someone from the initial group sent them an invite. Even though both social networks started out the same way (starting out within a cluster of loyal users), the reason why Google+ never really exploded in activity and use is because there wasn’t enough direct benefit for Facebook users to switch over.
As a social network, it would make sense that the most important direct benefit is that it is easy to keep up with many family members and friends when many people use a platform. However, Facebook had at least a five year head start on Google+, and many people have already firmly established their social lives on Facebook. To start over on a new leaf with fewer users on a social network that isn’t significantly better than Facebook simply didn’t make sense, and thus Google+ is used less frequently and has a smaller loyal user base.