They actually borrowed[0] the circles idea from a Lycos product from 10 years earlier that was actually called Circles.[1] [0] No idea if anyone on the Google

They actually borrowed[0] the circles idea from a Lycos product from 10 years earlier that was actually called Circles.[1] [0] No idea if anyone on the Google team had actually used Lycos Circles but it's not unreasonable to think they might of. [1] https://info.lycos.com/about/press/?pressReleaseId=1550 https://info.lycos.com/about/press/?pressReleaseId=1550