Google+ – Great Potential but is it too late?

I will admit that my first impression of Google+ was a good one. Google really impressed me with the clean interface and ease of use. So, this gave me hope that, unlike their last few attempts, this would pay off for their bid to enter social media. It took a few days but I got an invite and started to explore.

Then after a few days it made me wonder what their plans were. They had one of the fastest growing social networks but it wasn’t complete yet. There were still major things missing. These include company pages, games just to list a few. This now made me loose hope of the adoption.

Here are a few things I think really slowed down Google+

  • The API wasn’t released: This is one of the first things I think they should have released. Releasing an API would allow users to post via a third party app, like Hootsuit or TweetDeck.
  • Company pages: This is another thing that should have been ready to go. With in the first month the business pages should have gone live. They instead released a request for Beta that they later revoked. Businesses are still in the dark on what exactly will happen. Ford is the best example for a page.
  • Beta invites weren’t exclusive. If the purpose was to slowly release features, then the Beta invites should have been more exclusive and limited. This would have allowed feedback and to update Google+ as needed

These are just a few reasons that have slowed down the momentum that Google + had, and I don’t know if they will gain it back. I talk to people in social and they are all pretty done with it for now. It may go down as the next Wave or Buzz.

Tim is the founder of Element33. A social media agency specializing in education, management and strategy for small businesses. He comes from a traditional marketing agency but has embraced all things digital. He considers himself a marketing nerd and believes that all marketing is tied together. This means no matter what silo you are in, social, email, seach, etc, changes in one will affect the other!

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