8 ms·

I mean, engineers are generally pretty smart people, I don't think anybody within the company thinks Google+ is killing it. But the thing is, I would imagine th

by Mahn 10y ago

I mean, engineers are generally pretty smart people, I don't think anybody within the company thinks Google+ is killing it. But the thing is, I would imagine that if you work at Google you are going to work on "unsexy" products too. Working on Google+ today is probably not worse than say working on the Ads Platform or some random internal reporting tool. It's not super mega exciting, but it's a job and you get paid.

awesomerobot 10y ago
Yes, of course I'm sure the actual work is valuable as an employee... and to say you're working on the Google+ team is to say you're working at Google, which is hugely valuable on its own. I'm more wondering if there's some goal they're all working towards... what's their mission as a team? What's the morale like? Is there a lot of pressure on them to perform better?
- dmead 10y ago
  perform better how? the failures are in marketing and brand stuff. after all, google+ is really a me-too product reminiscent of late 90s/early 2000s microsoft. Facebook, for all it's faults pretty much spread word of mouth. everything about google+ seems forced.
  - reitanqild 10y ago
    Some people around here (not saying you) have been shouting their hate against g+ so loud that many seems to be unaware that for some users, and quite a few it seems, google+ offers a much better experience than anything else. You say: "everything about google+ seems forced." I say: less forced than twitter, on g+ I can write my post just the way I want anf share with just the people I want. Less forced than facebook: on g+ I can (and I do have) multiple personas, keeping my friends away from being bothered by my taste in music, future employers from being bothered by what I do on my spare time etc. Hint: nothing illegal, I would not trust it to protect me against a police investigation, but for the majority of us (I hope) we don't need that.
    - user202020 10y ago
      My view is that Google+ is like some smaller social media or messaging apps. If the people you care about are using it, then you'll use it. Some services, like Facebook, are completely dependent on everyone being on it. But others, like GroupMe in my case, are only used for what I like, and I don't care about the people that aren't on it because they aren't what I'm looking for (I know Facebook and GroupMe are different things.) I think Google+ works for the communities that exist on it, and they don't care about seeing the service become insanely popular. Okay, maybe they do, but it doesn't affect the enjoyment they already have.
    - nol13 10y ago
      The experience is great I'm sure, the problem is they messed up the launch dooming it probably forever, and that it's owned by google, which already knows enough about me. Of course I'm also a paranoid who wouldn't use any social media remotely tied to real life anyway.
    - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
      Indeed, Google+ is just about the last Google product I still use regularly. Because I have no better options. I'm too wordy for Twitter, and Facebook is too private, it's hard to find new people there.
    - dmead 10y ago
      Valid point. I have no use for twitter either.
sylvinus 10y ago
Depends on your perspective! I think people working on the Ads Platform have much more interesting technical challenges than those working on G+, and that may be more appealing to many developers.
kirkdouglas 10y ago
I am sure Google has way more "unsexier" projects than G+.
mason55 10y ago
> Working on Google+ today is probably not worse than say working on the Ads Platform Ads funds everything else that Google does. That is where the top engineers are working.
- euyyn 10y ago
  It's kind of unrelated. Case in point: Neither Jeff Dean nor Sanjay, the most prominent engineers, work on ads-related things.
- duiker101 10y ago
  Doesn't make it exciting.(in relation to the product at least. Maybe working with them would be exciting just for the hell of it)
cromwellian 10y ago
Actually, I'd say that the infrastructure and tools work being done on Google+ for the Web are bleeding edge and some of the more exciting stuff being done, so it's not unsexy. Look at how fast the new + loads, and open up the sources tab in your browser and look at how the JS is split. The way Closure Compiler is slicing up the app into tons of tiny individually loadable, optimized and minified chunks is very awesome. Google+ photos on the Web works the same way.
- ElijahLynn 10y ago
  Exactly, the new G+ loads pretty fast. Luke Wroblewski has also been heavily influencing the design of the new G+. Some of you may know him from his A Book Apart book, Mobile First. Check out his G+ posts to see all the work the G+ team has been doing. https://plus.google.com/+LukeWroblewski https://plus.google.com/+LukeWroblewski

by Mahn 10y ago

awesomerobot 10y ago

Yes, of course I'm sure the actual work is valuable as an employee... and to say you're working on the Google+ team is to say you're working at Google, which is hugely valuable on its own. I'm more wondering if there's some goal they're all working towards... what's their mission as a team? What's the morale like? Is there a lot of pressure on them to perform better?

dmead 10y ago
perform better how? the failures are in marketing and brand stuff. after all, google+ is really a me-too product reminiscent of late 90s/early 2000s microsoft. Facebook, for all it's faults pretty much spread word of mouth. everything about google+ seems forced.
- reitanqild 10y ago
  Some people around here (not saying you) have been shouting their hate against g+ so loud that many seems to be unaware that for some users, and quite a few it seems, google+ offers a much better experience than anything else. You say: "everything about google+ seems forced." I say: less forced than twitter, on g+ I can write my post just the way I want anf share with just the people I want. Less forced than facebook: on g+ I can (and I do have) multiple personas, keeping my friends away from being bothered by my taste in music, future employers from being bothered by what I do on my spare time etc. Hint: nothing illegal, I would not trust it to protect me against a police investigation, but for the majority of us (I hope) we don't need that.
  - user202020 10y ago
    My view is that Google+ is like some smaller social media or messaging apps. If the people you care about are using it, then you'll use it. Some services, like Facebook, are completely dependent on everyone being on it. But others, like GroupMe in my case, are only used for what I like, and I don't care about the people that aren't on it because they aren't what I'm looking for (I know Facebook and GroupMe are different things.) I think Google+ works for the communities that exist on it, and they don't care about seeing the service become insanely popular. Okay, maybe they do, but it doesn't affect the enjoyment they already have.
  - nol13 10y ago
    The experience is great I'm sure, the problem is they messed up the launch dooming it probably forever, and that it's owned by google, which already knows enough about me. Of course I'm also a paranoid who wouldn't use any social media remotely tied to real life anyway.
  - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
    Indeed, Google+ is just about the last Google product I still use regularly. Because I have no better options. I'm too wordy for Twitter, and Facebook is too private, it's hard to find new people there.
  - dmead 10y ago
    Valid point. I have no use for twitter either.

sylvinus 10y ago

Depends on your perspective! I think people working on the Ads Platform have much more interesting technical challenges than those working on G+, and that may be more appealing to many developers.

kirkdouglas 10y ago

I am sure Google has way more "unsexier" projects than G+.

mason55 10y ago

> Working on Google+ today is probably not worse than say working on the Ads Platform Ads funds everything else that Google does. That is where the top engineers are working.

euyyn 10y ago
It's kind of unrelated. Case in point: Neither Jeff Dean nor Sanjay, the most prominent engineers, work on ads-related things.
duiker101 10y ago
Doesn't make it exciting.(in relation to the product at least. Maybe working with them would be exciting just for the hell of it)

cromwellian 10y ago

Actually, I'd say that the infrastructure and tools work being done on Google+ for the Web are bleeding edge and some of the more exciting stuff being done, so it's not unsexy. Look at how fast the new + loads, and open up the sources tab in your browser and look at how the JS is split. The way Closure Compiler is slicing up the app into tons of tiny individually loadable, optimized and minified chunks is very awesome. Google+ photos on the Web works the same way.

ElijahLynn 10y ago
Exactly, the new G+ loads pretty fast. Luke Wroblewski has also been heavily influencing the design of the new G+. Some of you may know him from his A Book Apart book, Mobile First. Check out his G+ posts to see all the work the G+ team has been doing. https://plus.google.com/+LukeWroblewski https://plus.google.com/+LukeWroblewski