Google+ has really built up quite a head of steam in the recent month since its introduction. However, things have a tendency not to run smoothly for Google’s social media escapades – check out the Google Buzz and Google Wave failures – and Google+ is said to have hit a bit of a wall as far as growth is concerned.
Numbers joining have slowed, with most claiming that the flurry of early adopters has reached saturation point. In essence, the Google+ has run out of the ‘social media marketing geeks’ like us to join the site and needs to appeal to the mainstream audience – ‘The
Norms’.
This appeal to the mainstream audience is Google +’s battle of hearts and minds, its D Day, its…well you get the idea.
Google’s current 20m approx users of its social media site is very impressive, but is less than 7 per cent of the 750m users Facebook has. Many feel Google+ is a solid product, and nothing else and there is a feeling that the company has created a Facebook clone with the innovative addition of Hangouts and circles. Facebook has won its 750m users through a mix of solidity, but also risk taking
Google has also been criticised for suspending a number of individuals and companies it has mistaken for fake accounts or spammers. This has led to the company having to review its suspension policy and the whole overall situation has led to a drop in traffic. So how can Google take the next leap to the main stream? Well it needs to open to the public as soon as possible before it loses its forward momentum completely.
Obviously when it goes fully live people with Gmail will be invited to join and these invites should spur on many mainstream accounts, with more being created through a drip as people realise most of their other friends have joined.
Google has also used celebs to garter interest in the new project, playing on the world’s love of gossip.
However how many people are going to want to join something when they already have 300+ friends on Facebook and is Google+ offering something different enough to get people to join up?
Google’s circles allows users to place different people in different circles, thereby allowing them to see different parts of a person’s profile – ideal for separating work from play. Google’s Hangout feature is also excellent and one of the best group video chat available anywhere.
Is this enough and will the norms take all this onboard? Well, time will tell, it will take a lot more innovation and risk and some sort of X-Factor before Google will topple the house of Zuckerberg and Co. It’s a novel idea, but Google+ needs to something new now, to continue its rise – the old exclusivity trick has ran its ground.
What do you think? Can Goolge + continue to grow and become a social media world beater, or has the initial buzz worn off? Will the ‘average Joe’ be prepared to make the switch from Facebook?
Please let us know what you think via the comments section.
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