At first glance, when Google+ was launched in 2011, it looked like it would be a decent competitor for Facebook. It was backed by one of the biggest Internet brand (guess which) and was loaded with a myriad of their services. All in all, it was expected to be destined for something bigger.
Obstacles, however, got in the way. One such was the departure of Vic Gundotra. With the father gone, the baby project was left in the hands of a foster father with different visions. A second obstacle before was that it looked a lot like its main competition; if Google’s supposed social media site had nothing more to offer than Facebook, then would you switch? Another was the management decision to require a Google+ account to use other Google products; one prime gripe was leaving comments on videos on YouTube (which, if you recall, Google bought back in 2006).
Needless to say, a lot of people thought this wasn’t the best system to implement—especially when considering the general and specific numbers of “Google+ users.”
But things have changed for the better. (Being just a social media platform wasn’t the intent to begin with.) No longer the Facebook clone that it was, Google+ is now a stable community of professionals and like-minded individuals. So sign up and enjoy a breath of fresh (social media) air.
“What about my connections?” you ask. Well, the following infographic makes sure you don’t stay a blank slate for long.