Google+ Growing As a Social Backbone 267
OverTheGeicoE writes "The Wall Street Journal reports that Google+ has added 20 million users in just 3 weeks. According to the article, no other site has recorded such high growth in such a short time period. Twitter did something similar once, but in months, not weeks. It's especially surprising considering that access to Google+ is by invitation only. Why is Google+ growing so quickly?"
A recent article at O'Reilly Radar offers a possible answer to this, calling Google+ "the rapidly growing seed of a web-wide social backbone," but one that requires openness from Google to really flourish and supplant Facebook. The growth of Google+ will be helped by their acquisition of Fridge, a startup company focused on group sharing. Meanwhile, recruiters and marketers are already eyeballing the growing social network and licking their chops.
I'll use it the same way I use other social sites. (Score:2, Interesting)
I intend to use Google+ the same way I use every other social networking site. I'll create an account to claim my own identity, then disable as many features as possible, then post a message that states that I do not use the service and that if you want to talk to me, you should email me.
No thanks, Google. (Score:4, Interesting)
After it was revealed that Google would remove ALL your Google accounts -- Gmail, Adsense, Docs, etc. -- for violating the Google+ TOS, it became clear to me that this was a Friendster clone I was better off not using.
If I wanted a bureaucracy to decide for me what's appropriate for me to say and do, and punish me severely for violating the rules, I'd build a time machine and go back to the Soviet Union.
Tired and Flawed Reasoning (Score:4, Interesting)
Why is Google+ growing so quickly?
Because it's not Facebook...
I'm sick of people proffering this and only this as a reason to Google+ growth. There is something more to it, after all, iTunes Ping [wikipedia.org] isn't Facebook either. Why didn't they balloon up to 20 million in two weeks?
There's features that are importantly different like friends can't post on my "wall" in G+ and managing and restricting circles is easier for me in G+ than managing and restricting lists was in FB. Google did some things wrong at first and they've corrected some but I'm hoping for a much lighter UI at some point. Or even just the option to not have all the circle animations.
Furthermore the "autofacerecognition" crap that Facebook made opt-in by default was really scary for me personally. I don't doubt Google's ability to do something similar but so far the privacy problems have been negligible compared to getting Zuckerpunched with something worse and worse each month. All of Facebook isn't bad, in some ways G+ is much like it. But at least take the time to enumerate what the advantages are to you.
Re:I'll use it the same way I use other social sit (Score:4, Interesting)
I am new to social networks, with Google+ so this may be the naivety that speaks, but I don't think you have to disable your account just to use e-mail. You can have lots of benefits from participating in Google+ to see cool things that scientists and techies (in my case) share with others, to get updates from family members and see a cute video of your friend's newborn. None of these has to replace personal e-mails.
For me, it's lots of fun following Sergey Brin, Linus Torvalds and a number of scientists or science writers and even science comedians. These people are truly creative, in the way that I can appreciate.
This didn't change my e-mail usage patterns one bit.
Re:For realsies? (Score:5, Interesting)
Can't say I'm super-impressed.
Maybe you're not, but artists and journalists are flocking to Google+. Let me give you just one example of the former: read what Trey Ratcliff wrote [readwriteweb.com]. 40.000+ followers on G+ and half as many on his Facebook fanpage. As to journalists - countless examples. This video might explain why: Google Plus on Rocketboom. [rocketboom.com]. Pay attention to the twitter part, or to what Ratcliff says in the interview. Communication is simiply more fun on G+ - and far more effective. On facebook, you can't chose who among your 300 "friends" sees what you want to say. Facebook "filters" (well, censors) your post to a select people based on various past indicators. You have no control over this process whatsoever. On Google+ you are in control. And thanks to control over what you see (direct links to circle streams, the ability to "mute" discussions) you don't have to listen to the flood of stupidity that is overwhelming on Facebook. That also makes it easier to follow others, share content, etc. - as you can see in Ratcliff's example.
Re:since when (Score:4, Interesting)
I love this about the comments on slashdot.
Yep, just like I love the comments on slashdot that complain: "Hey, one time on /., a few people said one thing, then later, a bunch of other people said something completely contradictory. WTF, people? Have all the same opinion, already...Jeebus!!!"
Re:I'll use it the same way I use other social sit (Score:3, Interesting)
The signal to noise ratio on the receiving end is absolutely not worth the time and investment. Nor is the whole privacy and data farming concern. I don't generally have anything worth throwing out into the river of information in the other direction, either. The difference is that while most of the people in my feed will post things anyway, I realize that I'm not posting anything of real value and will therefore simply not post it.
Yes, people may occasionally post something with a degree of value, but it is always drowned out by the inane and self-involved comments. I am not willing to put up with 300 posts about your cat, child, lunch, repeated talking points on illegal immigration, or amateur photography for that one comment that my stir a discussion or be somehow useful.
Because of my former projects, my identity will be falsely claimed by someone else should I not do it first. I also recognize that for many people, going to Facebook and searching for someone is the absolute only way they know of to attempt to contact someone. So it does serve as an index, of sorts. And that's what I use it for. If someone searches for me via some key information, they'll see a note that tells them how to contact me.
The problem with social networking is that it's rather anti-social. It's not about discussion or community or friendship. It's about me. Look at me. Think about me. Listen to me. See how cool I am? See how many friends I have? See how many comments I get on what I post? See how often I post? See my Klout ranking? See how many tweets I've written? See how many photos there are of me? Take my quiz. Indulge my passive-agressive vague comments about things in my life that you don't care about. Help me build the brand that is moi.
If I have something of value to say, I will email you and those it involves. I might even IM you. Hell, I might even call you. Or come visit you. That doesn't sound anti-social, to me. I don't assume that everyone needs to know everything about me at all times of the day. I don't need to mass-broadcast everything. I can give some thought to my communication and direct it at those to whom it is appropriate. I'd expect the same consideration, in return. Six hundred people on your friend list don't need to know your everything or how your relationship is going. Your best friends might, though. So call your best friend and talk it over with them. Don't broadcast it to everyone.
And yes, I understand that Google+ facilitates a better use of social networking than others have before, by the implementation of circles. I'm in favor of that. I'm in favor of narrowing your band of communication and focusing it as much as possible on the relevant audience. Although, it's unfortunate that we think of people we know as an "audience". And therein lies much of the problem - most people use social networks as a stage on which to perform for an audience. Not a tool for communication. And when it comes to communication, the proprietary social network system doesn't really do much that the distributed and non-proprietary email system doesn't already do.
Ultimately, the problem with social networking is over-exposure. Haven't we all had a friend that we became roommates with? Or a girlfriend that we let move in with us? The proximity and over-exposure to people can have a severe negative impact. When you have to make at least the slightest effort for someone's attention or company, you tend to get along and have some respect for each other and enjoy each other's company. When they're constantly within arm's reach, piling up dirty dishes in the kitchen, taking a dump with the bathroom door open, leaving their clothes all over the floor of your home, and constantly yapping on the phone all day -- they become an annoyance. You don't appreciate their company. You lose interest in and respect for them.
Likewise, I get along with my neighbor, because we just talk occasionally. Sometimes we help each other out with a chore or check each other's mail while out of town. I like my ne
Re:This could be a very bad thing... (Score:4, Interesting)
So, is there any benefit to G+ and what level of privacy can I expect at Google today and in the future?
As it is right now, G+ seems more private than Facebook. Right off the bat, they do not have a million and one Zygna games and various other shady applications that your "friends" are playing. Those apps all seem to uniformly gain access to not just the accounts of those playing them, but also the "public" information of any accounts linked to the player's account.
G+ does not have the same sort of "Wall" that Facebook has. Where as Facebook has a default allow policy, Google seems to have a default deny. Unless you explicitly share content with Everyone, the content is not there to be mined by third parties.
On the other hand, all of your concerns about Google are concerns that I share. What prevents them from selling their data to insurance companies, Lexis Nexus, ChoicePoint, or any other data aggragator (sp) with the money to pay for it?
I'm on Google+ mostly for the Circles feature. Sure, Facebook has lists but Google made the circles very easy to use. I have my circles for my tech friends, my political friends, my WoW friends, etc. I can target my posts to the people who are interested in the content and not have to spam everyone else.