Google caused quite a stir in the social media scene last year when they
introduced Google+ (also written as Google Plus or G+) to the world. The search
tycoon is the most visited website
on the planet, followed closely behind by Facebook, the world’s largest social
media site. So why has the new networking site not taken off quite as planned?
Google+
introduced many new features not available on Facebook:
In order to gain followers,
Google had to introduce new and exciting features that would draw users away
from other social networking giants and into their new site. Several special elements were incorporated into Google+:
1.
Hangouts- a group video chat feature; Facebook
currently only offers a one-on-one video chat feature
2.
Sparks- a place where members can customize
their interests so specific news headlines and articles will appear on their
page; Facebook now allows users to “subscribe” to different news destinations
such as “Yahoo” or “Huffington Post”
3.
Circles- the most well-known feature of Google+
allows users to sort their friends into different groups but keeps the name of
the groups and other members of the circle hidden; Facebook users also have the
option to create “groups” but privacy in those groups is much more limited as
all members can see the group’s name and who else is placed within that group
4.
Stranger Danger- while some users may find it
appealing, many are not okay with Google+’s feature of being able to chat and
see updates from friends who are not in your circles or who you have not
followed; Facebook allows its users to severely limit what strangers are able
to see on an individual’s page
Over a year
later, G+ struggles to remain an active contender in the social networking
battle:
Google Plus created a mass initial hype that has severely deteriorated in
the last 12 months. In just 3 months, Google+ managed to accumulate over 25 million users so why were they unable to surpass MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn?
Exclusivity, as seen with the creation of Facebook, makes any social networking
site appealing to users. During its initial launch, Google Plus was available
on an invite-only basis. When the site was eventually opened to all users
social networkers jumped at the opportunity to join the site that had been on
lock-down for such a long duration of time. Now, the initial excitement has
subsided and all the other major social networks have updated their sites to
compete with Google Plus’s special features.
Google Plus
may not be a complete failure it just fails to meet all of its user’s needs:
As a Google Plus account holder,
it is easy to understand why the site has had a hard time maintaining current
and attracting new users.
- · No one likes change- If you ever want to see people go bananas over a simple change, just wait for Facebook to make their next profile update. When the social networking giant updated to Timeline this past year the backlash was outrageous. Now imagine how the world will react if they have to adjust to an entirely new site… The outcome doesn’t look promising.
- · Nothing to do- Any social networking user knows how easy it is to get caught up for hours looking at updates from friends, socializing or playing a never-ending game of Farmville. Google+ lacks “stuff” to do. They don’t provide users with games or other activities that will keep users on their site for more than a five minute check-in
- · Lack of sharing- The idea behind a social networking site is that users are supposed to share their lives with other social networkers. Instead of promoting sharing, Google Plus actually promotes limiting what you share based on who you place in which “circle.”
Statistics show
that Google still has a long way to go if they intend to remain a fighting
contender in the social network arena:
