Over the years we’ve received feedback that people want to better understand how to control the data they choose to share with apps on Google+. So as part of Project Strobe, one of our first priorities was to closely review all the APIs associated with Google+.
This review crystallized what we’ve known for a while: that while our engineering teams have put a lot of effort and dedication into building Google+ over the years, it has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps. The consumer version of Google+ currently has low usage and engagement: 90 percent of Google+ user sessions are less than five seconds.
Seriously, who didn’t see this coming… five years ago.
Yup – more details here – https://www.pcworld.com/article/3311468/google-plus/google-plus-shutting-down-exposed-data.html
I saw it coming 7 years ago.
Yep. It was stupid and DOA the day I saw it announced.
Poor Andy Hertzfeld, only guy I ever saw use it – but then again he was on the project team.
But the reason for the closure is more serious than this headline lets on. Here’s another:
“Google Shuttering Google+ for Consumers After Undisclosed Data Breach”
Dang.
“…Google had allowed developers access to both public and private profile fields.”
How inconvenient for them.
On the plus side (no pun intended), so few people used Google+ that it’s ultimately not going to impact many people lol.
The timing couldn’t be worse for them. Day before Google event and early in the week. If there’s any justice, this and their attempted coverup takes over the tech news cycle for the next week or two.
I remember it as a pretty good place for people I didn’t respect to criticize my personal consumer tech choices, while reciting things Vic Gundotra had said about Android.
So it’s actually worse than Facebook? Who’d have thought? /s
Google will take the fact that you remember it at all as a win. Most people who’ve used it probably don’t remember anything about it.
Seems like a case study in why trying to jump on the bandwagon is doomed to fail.
Uh, google jumped on the search bandwagon 🙂
LOL! Good one!
Google revolutionized search from the categorized index to a live updated and pageranked answer finder. They jumped on the social network bandwagon w/ no breakthroughs or advantage just cause it seemed like a way to get more data about their users.
That wasn’t the comment. The comment was they jumped on. They didn’t invent search