NKPR asks: Do You Still Use Google+?

November 3, 2011, 10:32 pm

Pulpit rock

For this week’s IT List we’re giving you the chance to talk. After coming across an article warning “Ignore Google+ at Your Own Peril,” we asked Twitter what they thought of the social network.

The online behemoth’s answer to Facebook and Twitter seemed so promising at first – it came right at a time of social media fatigue, when we were sick of Facebook’s constantly changing timelines. It promised to be the be-all-and-end-all of social networks. After bragging about Google+ invites and testing the waters, we all sat back and waited for it to catch on.

So what happened? Well, nothing really. It’s the first thing you notice when you log into your Google+ account. All there is is a blog post from early October and the proverbial tumbleweed tumbling by.

Still, Rebecca Davis, who penned the above article says that even in its early stages, Google+ can be a valuable resource for PR and marketing pros. The main argument here is that we shouldn’t sell Google+ short simply because it didn’t immediately become the new Facebook.

Another interesting point is that the +1 button could change the way we take information in online. According to Davis, “+1’s effect on search results may change user behaviors we’ve been seeing for nearly a decade.  Transparently, users see that a friend has found a link valuable and are more likely to click on it; behind the scenes, Google may add this layer to the relevance of search results and shift the very content of search results. Seismic shifts are possible.”

These “seismic shifts” haven’t happened yet and it’s doubtful they’ll happen any time soon. For the time being, Google+ isn’t the Facebook replacement we all thought it would be and remains a social media ghost town.

Here’s what you had to say: What happened to Google+? Do you still use it?

JGinenthal
@natashankpr Perhaps b/c Google+ was “invite-only” at first it never caught enough steam? Being too exclusive is never good!

MsAmanjeet
@natashankpr I couldn’t bring myself to bother when G+ first came out, could your blog post include whether it’s worth bothering now?

jessy757
@natashankpr I’m curious too! People were going crazy about it at the beginning. It just kinda fizzled out

JugniStyle
No… But people are still joining my circles. RT @natashankpr: I’m curious, whatever happened to Google+? Does anyone still use it?

RobLosch
@natashankpr I love using it for for video hangouts! Other than that…It’s pointless to me. The hype and excitement of it died away!

AraYeremian
@natashankpr I signed up… and have never used it since. I don’t think it can compete with FB & Twitter!

JGinenthal
@natashankpr I’ve got an account myself but it’s pretty stagnant. Definitely not the Facebook killer we thought it would be.

LaurenMariaS
@natashankpr not really.. but it is good for google ranking. When they introduce the option for company pages, more people will use it

clickflickca
@natashankpr I don’t use it as much but enjoy using Google Hangouts for collaboration.

Chrislovesxo
@natashankpr No. I keep forgetting about it.

halihamilton
@ellistuhler Don’t really care, which probably says it all.

haleycullingham
@ellistuhler  I couldn’t remember the name of it the other day. I kept asking people what the Google Facebook was called.

 

-Elli Stuhler (@ellistuhler)