Why Google+ Failed

I expect there will be two types of readers perusing this blog right now. The first will not really know what Google+ is, or was. The second will be angry, maybe event shouting at their screen "Google+ has not failed!"

The second type of person amuse me the most. Often totally confident in their opinion that Google+ is still a viable social media despite the fact they themselves have not logged onto their own Google+ profile in months.

In my humble opinion Google+ never worked. It was hyped so much that nobody knew where the false expectations started and the downright lies ended. So, let me spell it out to you all very clearly. Google+ is dead.

What people used to say

"It cannot fail. It is backed by Google"

"It’s going to be massive. You need to get on it now"

"It’s going to overtake Facebook!"

"It’s where everyone is going to do business"

What people should have been saying but never did say about Google+

"It is where everyone is"

"How come everyone is already on Google+?"

"I have never head of this but all my friends are inviting me to join"

"I don’t care if it is going to be the next big thing I just love using it"

Myspace v Google+

I have been very lucky in my life to have witnessed the fall of one major social media platform. The death of Myspace still weighs heavy on my soul. It was a great website and I am honored to have been one of the 76 million users before 2008. I loved that site. But it failed because they overlooked one golden rule.

This golden rule was also overlooked when Google+ was designed and rolled out. A rule so golden it could almost be platinum. You need to design your product or service for your customers. Google+ failed to do this (just as Myspace failed to develop to their users’ new savvy needs).

I have always felt Google+ was technically sound. That is the problem. It felt like it was developed for clever coders and tech geeks. It had lots of cool little new features but lacked a soul. Think about it for a minute. What was the actual point of Google+?

·        Facebook is to share photos of friends and family.

·        Twitter is a news, gossip and small update ticker.

·        LinkedIn is where you connect with your professional colleagues, share and learn expertise.

·        Instagram is where you share the beauty of everyday life in photos

·        YouTube is the multimedia giant of the internet. The home of video

What was the point of Google+? I have always struggled to find its use. It never had a feature that was not already present on one of the platforms named above. Worse of all and the cardinal sin of all social media is that it never inspired or nurtured socialising. How can it be a 'social' media when there is nobody using it to be social with?

The Future of Google+

Once a month I look into a crystal social media ball and I always see the same vague wavy images of Google+ It will fade slowly into obscurity. Google will hack off the bits that worked and dispose of the part that didn’t.

After all it was backed by Google and like the efficient corporate giant that they are they will sort this failure out with a cold calculating efficiency. It doesn’t really matter anyway; Google own YouTube. The world’s largest video platform. Something Facebook will have to fight hard to win off them.

These are my humble opinions. Do you agree or maybe think I am crazy? Please let me know as I need closure.

Find out more about me and my company on our website www.lucky6marketing.com