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I don't know if this is a big deal. I've also downloaded it, but have had no reason to even open it yet. I still doubt G+'s ability to make a significant impact

I don't know if this is a big deal. I've also downloaded it, but have had no reason to even open it yet. I still doubt G+'s ability to make a significant impact. Duncan Stewart's retweet of Andy Levy's comment says it best: "as far as I can tell, every post on Google+ is either something I already saw on Twitter or something about Google+." With that said, I think there is value. I'm more than happy to tell Google who my friends are, if it helps them refine my searches.

cryptoz 15y ago
> I still doubt G+'s ability to make a significant impact. That's a mistake. I think it's pretty clear that Google+ is already a successful product that's making an impact, but let's pretend for a second that it isn't. When Chrome launched, it had very little market share for a very long time. However, as it slowly grew, the obvious statement to make was that as other browsers saw it coming they quickened their pace and sped up their JavaScript engines, hastened release cycles, etc. Even if Chrome never did attain much market share (it did) it would have been seen by Google as a huge success very quickly: if all other browsers are faster that's still a win for Google. So, even if Google+ never gets significant market share (too late, within weeks it has millions of users), it already has made an impact by providing intense competition for Facebook. Google even launched video chats before Facebook did, showing very clearly that in some places (new features) they are already changing the landscape of social networking. They already have made a significant impact. And the game is just starting.
- Shenglong 15y ago
  I don't know what Google's aim is with Google+. If they're not aiming to replace one of the current social networks, then yeah sure, they can succeed. Chrome was a completely different beast, and I suppose the best way to differentiate is on brand relevance vs brand preference. IE and FF were still browsers. No one said "go internet explorer" - but people do say "Oh yeah, go Facebook me" or "yeah Facebook that kay?" When I think of sharing something online, I think Facebook or Twitter, and not "social network". Yes, Google has a large market share in a small amount of time. What are their usage details? I still haven't seen anything on G+ that hasn't been on my FB feed, or been tweeted first. Also, unlike Chrome, I don't feel G+ offers any drastically different features. Ok, this is speculation. But this is all speculation. I guess we just need to wait.
  - dannyr 15y ago
    "I don't use it. None of my friends use it so it's not popular and won't be successful." Ah, I really dislike this mentality. Ever heard of "Everybody Loves Raymond"? It's a TV show that I didn't and none of my friends watched. But guess what? it was the most-watched show in the early 2000s. How about "Arrested Development"? I watched it. My friends were watching it. Some of my friends still talk about it on Facebook. But guess what? It got canceled because of poor ratings. What I learned is that in some aspects, I'm not part of the mainstream. My guess is a lot of people in Hacker News aren't either. Let us not make conclusions on something based on what we or our friends use or like.
hn_decay 15y ago
"Duncan Stewart's retweet of"... I am honestly curious -- why wouldn't you just say "Andy Levy said it best"? Is there some onus of attribution regarding retweets? (Not snarky -- seriously curious. My personal opinion is that you blog about or retweet or share something because you think it's notable, deserving no attribution unless you've actually added something interesting to it) Twitter celebrities will have a natural aversion to any medium that essentially puts them at ground zero, and they're going to look for reasons not to like it. For the overwhelming majority of ordinary people, however, it does fill a need. The first-class nature of circles and the privacy controls have completely changed social networks for me, making intermixing classes of relationships much more relaxing.
- Shenglong 15y ago
  My fault. I actually not familiar with Andy Levy, and I felt DS's opinion mattered more on the issue, considering his area of expertise.
  - Helianthus 15y ago
    That's actually a legitimate reason to cite retweets. Huh.

cryptoz 15y ago

> I still doubt G+'s ability to make a significant impact. That's a mistake. I think it's pretty clear that Google+ is already a successful product that's making an impact, but let's pretend for a second that it isn't. When Chrome launched, it had very little market share for a very long time. However, as it slowly grew, the obvious statement to make was that as other browsers saw it coming they quickened their pace and sped up their JavaScript engines, hastened release cycles, etc. Even if Chrome never did attain much market share (it did) it would have been seen by Google as a huge success very quickly: if all other browsers are faster that's still a win for Google. So, even if Google+ never gets significant market share (too late, within weeks it has millions of users), it already has made an impact by providing intense competition for Facebook. Google even launched video chats before Facebook did, showing very clearly that in some places (new features) they are already changing the landscape of social networking. They already have made a significant impact. And the game is just starting.

Shenglong 15y ago
I don't know what Google's aim is with Google+. If they're not aiming to replace one of the current social networks, then yeah sure, they can succeed. Chrome was a completely different beast, and I suppose the best way to differentiate is on brand relevance vs brand preference. IE and FF were still browsers. No one said "go internet explorer" - but people do say "Oh yeah, go Facebook me" or "yeah Facebook that kay?" When I think of sharing something online, I think Facebook or Twitter, and not "social network". Yes, Google has a large market share in a small amount of time. What are their usage details? I still haven't seen anything on G+ that hasn't been on my FB feed, or been tweeted first. Also, unlike Chrome, I don't feel G+ offers any drastically different features. Ok, this is speculation. But this is all speculation. I guess we just need to wait.
- dannyr 15y ago
  "I don't use it. None of my friends use it so it's not popular and won't be successful." Ah, I really dislike this mentality. Ever heard of "Everybody Loves Raymond"? It's a TV show that I didn't and none of my friends watched. But guess what? it was the most-watched show in the early 2000s. How about "Arrested Development"? I watched it. My friends were watching it. Some of my friends still talk about it on Facebook. But guess what? It got canceled because of poor ratings. What I learned is that in some aspects, I'm not part of the mainstream. My guess is a lot of people in Hacker News aren't either. Let us not make conclusions on something based on what we or our friends use or like.

hn_decay 15y ago

"Duncan Stewart's retweet of"... I am honestly curious -- why wouldn't you just say "Andy Levy said it best"? Is there some onus of attribution regarding retweets? (Not snarky -- seriously curious. My personal opinion is that you blog about or retweet or share something because you think it's notable, deserving no attribution unless you've actually added something interesting to it) Twitter celebrities will have a natural aversion to any medium that essentially puts them at ground zero, and they're going to look for reasons not to like it. For the overwhelming majority of ordinary people, however, it does fill a need. The first-class nature of circles and the privacy controls have completely changed social networks for me, making intermixing classes of relationships much more relaxing.

Shenglong 15y ago
My fault. I actually not familiar with Andy Levy, and I felt DS's opinion mattered more on the issue, considering his area of expertise.
- Helianthus 15y ago
  That's actually a legitimate reason to cite retweets. Huh.