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I'm a teenager in a public high school, and I have not seen a single person use Google+. This is not because Google+ is age limited, or because Google+ is infer

I'm a teenager in a public high school, and I have not seen a single person use Google+. This is not because Google+ is age limited, or because Google+ is inferior, but because nobody uses Google+. Already, most people I know (including non "techies"), use Facebook primarily for chat. The rest of the Facebook features are just "extra", and used occasionally. Unless Google can pull something revolutionary out of their hat (or Facebook has a major blunder) in regards to chat, they aren't going to be able to pull the teenage community over. Note that this is from my personal experiences, and has a high probability of being completely wrong when you look at a broader population.

darklajid 15y ago
Now that seems weird. Thanks for sharing, but, really: Unless Google can pull something revolutionary out of their hat (or Facebook has a major blunder) in regards to chat Don't you know about GTalk? Or what would you add to it, to get to FB chat level? Because it's basically the ~same thing~, based on the same technology (xmpp).
- sobbybutter 15y ago
  I don't know if others feel this way, but I don't find Google's UI outside of search very appealing. And that includes Gmail, which is where a good chunk of GTalk conversations happen. Couple that with email in general not being a pleasant experience for many, and you have a lot of people who don't want to hang out on GTalk. Also, keep in mind that chat was "magically" sprung upon Facebook users when it launched; they didn't have to sign up for yet another account and most of one's friends were already there. It was as simple as clicking on a person's name and typing.
  - darklajid 15y ago
    Thanks, very interesting. Regarding GTalk / GMail: I just want to point out that GTalk features a decent mobile client (at least for Android, WebOS - no idea about the rest), a desktop client (at least for Windows?) and a widget that you can use not only in GMail (think google.com/ig for example). Or - connect with a decent 3rd party IM app on just about every OS.
    - Wilduck 15y ago
      Which are all fine if you're using GTalk. However, if all your friends use FB chat, you're probably not going to switch. Back when I was in middle/high school, people I knew used AIM, not Yahoo Messenger, or MSN Messenger because that's where their friends were. The fact that they were essentially the same just served to enforce the point that AIM would have had to make a very major blunder for anyone to switch. The same holds for facebook chat.
- deleted 15y ago
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- colinwarren 15y ago
  I know about GTalk, and have used it in the past, but nobody uses it, possibly because nobody knows about it. The extent of most people's interactions with GMail are the Inbox and the Send Message workflow. Few people bother setting up contacts in GMail (it's all in their phones), and even fewer will actually click on a contact to be able to see the "Invite To Chat" button.

darklajid 15y ago

Now that seems weird. Thanks for sharing, but, really: Unless Google can pull something revolutionary out of their hat (or Facebook has a major blunder) in regards to chat Don't you know about GTalk? Or what would you add to it, to get to FB chat level? Because it's basically the ~same thing~, based on the same technology (xmpp).

sobbybutter 15y ago
I don't know if others feel this way, but I don't find Google's UI outside of search very appealing. And that includes Gmail, which is where a good chunk of GTalk conversations happen. Couple that with email in general not being a pleasant experience for many, and you have a lot of people who don't want to hang out on GTalk. Also, keep in mind that chat was "magically" sprung upon Facebook users when it launched; they didn't have to sign up for yet another account and most of one's friends were already there. It was as simple as clicking on a person's name and typing.
- darklajid 15y ago
  Thanks, very interesting. Regarding GTalk / GMail: I just want to point out that GTalk features a decent mobile client (at least for Android, WebOS - no idea about the rest), a desktop client (at least for Windows?) and a widget that you can use not only in GMail (think google.com/ig for example). Or - connect with a decent 3rd party IM app on just about every OS.
  - Wilduck 15y ago
    Which are all fine if you're using GTalk. However, if all your friends use FB chat, you're probably not going to switch. Back when I was in middle/high school, people I knew used AIM, not Yahoo Messenger, or MSN Messenger because that's where their friends were. The fact that they were essentially the same just served to enforce the point that AIM would have had to make a very major blunder for anyone to switch. The same holds for facebook chat.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
colinwarren 15y ago
I know about GTalk, and have used it in the past, but nobody uses it, possibly because nobody knows about it. The extent of most people's interactions with GMail are the Inbox and the Send Message workflow. Few people bother setting up contacts in GMail (it's all in their phones), and even fewer will actually click on a contact to be able to see the "Invite To Chat" button.