Although it arrived late to the social media race following failed attempts with Wave and Fizz, Google+ had a lot in its favor when it was released in June 2011. Negative public perceptions of Facebook were rising every bit the visitor regularly changed and reset user privacy controls. There was a demand for an culling to Facebook in the summer of 2011. And so entered Google+, starting time as an invite-just service simply soon information technology became the umbrella that most, if not all, of Google's products and platforms would fall under. That conclusion turned out to exist one of many that continue to cause problems for the future of Google's massive bet on social. These are the 10 missteps that Google has made with Google+.
Overly Integrated and Bundled
Image past Thinkstock
This may be the error that doomed Google+ from twenty-four hours 1. The ascent of Google+ inside Google meant that many of Google'south core platforms and services would exist paired and in some cases required to fully integrate with Google+'s platform. Users of Google'due south most popular products like Gmail and YouTube were eventually rolled up into the framework of Google+ one manner or another. There was backlash, specially amid YouTube'southward commenter community, just the conclusion to aggressively integrate Google+ was made early on and methodically. For that reason Google+ has never been a standalone platform, simply rather a serial of existing features weaved and wrapped together. At a fourth dimension when many of its competitors are unbundling services, Google finds itself more tightly bundled than ever.
Leadership Departure
Paradigm by Gindotra by Reuters/Stephen Lam
Last month's difference of Vic Gundotra, the executive who aggressively led the social charge for Google, has left many wondering where Google+ went wrong and where information technology can possibly go from here. The leave came as a bit of a surprise, but Gundotra had been at Google for nearly viii years, working on Google I/O, and so leading mobile applications before running Google+. In what seemed to be a personal decision to move on to the next chapter, his exit does open up the door to a potential leadership vacuum. David Desbris, the current vice president of engineering for Google, has some big shoes to fill as he takes over Gundotra's role every bit Google's virtually public cheerleader and champion for social media.
Internal Strife Under the Shadows of Google+
Image by Thinkstock
The decision to force Google+ integration with other products similar YouTube and Gmail reportedly acquired clashes between Gundotra and others within the company. The strength of a new product still finding its way overwhelmed teams working on products that have been used for nearly a decade. Although these clashes have been widely reported, the apparent overstretch and further integration of Google+ could not have continued without the support of CEO Larry Page and others.
Bad Press Follows an Inconsistent Storyline
Image by Thinkstock
Google+ just tin can't shake the image — perceived or real — of beingness a ghost town. A loftier-profile article in The New York Times, kicked off with this zinger on Valentine's Day: "Google Plus, the company's social network, is like a ghost town. Want to see your old roommate's baby or mail your vacation status? Chances are, you'll use Facebook instead." While the true value of Google+ should be measured in the eye of every user, the ghost town determination rings true for many people whose instant reactions to the mere mention of Google+ is either a quick laugh or an heart whorl. The ghost boondocks comparisons began back in 2012 and continue to this twenty-four hours.
Electronic mail-Centric View of Online Identity
Image by Thinkstock
Here's where Google fails many of its virtually powerful and loyal users. Google+ effectively supplants your Google account, associating your login and social identity to a singular electronic mail address instead of an actual person. A large number of people actively maintain two or more Gmail accounts, for example, merely in Google+'southward myopic view of social identities those separate accounts are 2 different people. As long as Google sticks to its electronic mail-linked identity model, many of its heaviest users will be tasked with multiple account maintenance and a fragmented experience as they switch between separate email accounts. Asking users to change their behaviors rarely goes well and it certainly doesn't reflect CEO Larry Page'south notion of a unified "One Google."
Circles
Image by Thinkstock
Google'south vision for social circles became a standout feature of Google+. In a way, it foreshadowed more recent concerns over privacy and providing greater control over what action is shared and with whom. The premise is simple enough; you can create circles to plant dissimilar groups such as friends, family or colleagues. This allows you to carefully cull the people in your network co-ordinate to more realistic implications. It makes perfect sense, after all, that you would want to share something personal with your family or close friends without broadcasting information technology to your network. The act of alternative, however, is where the process breaks downwards. Most users don't desire to spend time carefully crafting and maintaining circles of people for the purpose of privacy.
Lacking Unique Features
Image by Thinkstock
For all the ways Google+ could exist and is the alternative to Facebook, making the case for adoption is still a tough slog. What'due south unlike nearly Google+ and what does it provide you that Facebook doesn't already? By most accounts, Hangouts and circles are ii of the almost important and popular features of Google+. Circles may be forever intertwined with Google+, but Hangouts is a product that stands lonely and does so very well across multiple platforms. In many ways Hangouts has already been elevated to equal footing with Google'south well-nigh prominent services. Without those more than unique reasons for you to appoint, Google+ has never reached the maturity required to have the immediacy of Twitter or all-encompassing strength of Facebook.
SEO Implications Are Unclear
Image past Thinkstock
The near unanimous opinion and perception among industry watchers is that Google gives prominence to content on Google+ in its search results. Whether that's truthful or not matters less than what most people believe to exist true already. Google has done a poor job of allying these fears and, equally a consequence, Google'due south social network is viewed every bit more of an SEO necessity than a valuable tool. Marketers will tell you that Google+ delivers on both counts, of form, only the network would undoubtedly do good from a more positive explanation of its role and value for SEO rankings. Meanwhile, Google has made a major shift on this upshot and at present unequivocally denies that Google+ is being used to boost search results.
Mobile Is an Reconsideration
Image by Thinkstock
Google has amassed a crew of equally many equally 1,200 employees for Google+, but much of the engineering feats and innovations have been directed to the Web version first and mobile later. The mobile applications for Google+ have improved dramatically over the years, just the best user experience is still being delivered online. While the industry and much of Google itself has shifted to a mobile-showtime mindset, Google'southward social projection appears to exist running on a unlike rail. The grandiosity of Google'due south vision for social could be clouding its collective judgment in determining what features affair near to the bulk of users who are increasingly mobile.
Widely Criticized Usage Numbers
Prototype by Thinkstock
Google'due south latest reported numbers for Google+ was 540 million monthly active users, just that number is inflated by almost double. Many of those being counted as monthly active users (MAUs) never actually visit the social network. Near the finish of 2013, there were 300 million MAUs and more than xx million unique monthly users on mobile. Those numbers are nothing to sneeze at, but the more damning statistic is the boilerplate of only seven minutes spent on Google+ each month, according to Nielsen. Google+'s percentatge of the total social sharing globally and in North America stands at but 3 percentage, according to Gigya.
Next read this
Social Networking Apps
Internet
Matt Kapko has been writing well-nigh engineering since earlier the dawn of the iPhone, and covering media well before it was social. Matt lives with his married woman in a nearly century-old craftsman in Long Beach, Calif. He can exist reached on Twitter: @mattkapko or past email: matt@kapko.co.
Pinnacle seven challenges IT leaders will confront in 2022
Pinnacle seven challenges IT leaders will confront in 2022 
0 Response to "Schedule Meeting Failed Please Try Again and Google Chrome"
Post a Comment