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Sounds a lot like Google+ at the beginning. "We have 100 million users!!!" Well no, you funneled people using search, gmail, and youtube into some annoying scre

Sounds a lot like Google+ at the beginning. "We have 100 million users!!!" Well no, you funneled people using search, gmail, and youtube into some annoying screen where they clicked around to make it go away.

wyclif 13y ago
That's not what they did. It should be noted that in the announcements that I've seen, Google has counted only active Google+ users. This is the "ghost town" ruse all over again. It's weak sauce and demonstrably facile. You can bash Google+ all you want, but it's not going to impress people who enjoy using it very much. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/the-loyal-users-of-google-plus-say-it-is-no-ghost-town/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/the-loyal-users-of-...
- cma 13y ago
  Does "active" Google+ users include people who are logged in and have plus-related stuff-they-don't-care-about in their standard google header? Or people who just reciprocate circle-adds but don't engage whatsoever?
  - hangonhn 13y ago
    Good point. "Active" shouldn't be a binary term. It should be more like "active engagement". Technically I'm an "active" user of Google+ but I don't spend more than a minute on there if I can help it.
  - wahnfrieden 13y ago
    Or even just people who click the bell when it's lit up red to make the notification go away.
    - rhizome 13y ago
      Engagement hacking!
    - tripzilch 13y ago
      Shit I do all those things, I don't even know why...
  - res0nat0r 13y ago
    All of the complaining about ghost towns isn't going to change the fact that G+ isn't going anywhere as long as Google stays as successful as it is right now.
    - pessimizer 13y ago
      Did anybody suggest that G+ should go somewhere before you did?
      - res0nat0r 13y ago
        Yes. All of the threads above about ghost town imply that it needs to die off and Google should give it up and get rid of the service since they don't believe it is valuable, hence ghost-town. Ain't happenin'.
    - wlesieutre 13y ago
      At first I thought you mean that in the same sense that my plans for energy-positive cold fusion aren't going anywhere. I'd say both interpretations apply.
  - notatoad 13y ago
    the last numbers i saw for Google+ usage specified "active in the stream", which isn't incredibly clear but sounds like they mean actually engaging. http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2013/10/google-hangouts-and-photos-save-some.html http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2013/10/google-hangouts-and-ph... (at the very bottom)
- durga 13y ago
  Don't buy the "x million use the google+ site regularly every month" number. The number of people who actively use g+ is miniscule. Don't believe me? Put a status message on fb and ask how many of them use g+. Or post it on linkedin or email all your contacts. Pretty much any decent product has a small number of fans. That doesn't make it "successful" by any statistical standards.
  - wyclif 13y ago
    The number of people who actively use g+ is miniscule [citation needed] Weak sauce, I say. It's readily apparent that they are the #2 social network in terms of actual usage. Put a status message on fb and ask how many of them use g+ Shall I also ask MySpace users how many of them use G+? Seriously, that "ghost town" bullshit simply isn't going to fly. It's been done to death, everybody's heard it, and anybody who is actually, you know, active on Google+ laughs at people who repeat it.
    - ianstormtaylor 13y ago
      The reason the misconception is still around is because the group of people laughing about the ghost-towners on Google+ is so small to begin with that the general trend never gets corrected. In other words, because it's true ;) PS. I think you're using "weak sauce" incorrectly.
      - wyclif 13y ago
        I think you're using "weak sauce" incorrectly Not at all: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weaksauce http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weaksauce
    - pscsbs 13y ago
      Googlers like to think that G+ is one of the biggest social networks. The reason the reported numbers are so high is because now YouTube users have to integrate with G+ and all sorts of Google products funnel users in. These users do one thing, and never use the service again.
- halostatue 13y ago
  I'm sure that Google counts me as an active G+ user (maybe twice or even three times, since I have my normal gmail account, my GAFYD, and the GAFYD for the company I work at). I think I've re-shared three things over the last three years, commented on maybe twice that, and I'm not sure I've posted a single original post there. I'm almost completely disconnected from whatever “community” G+ purports to offer, and at least one of the G+ profiles that I have was only created so that I could do hangouts with folks in the company (and we end up using Skype more often anyway). So yes, it's exactly what Google did.

wyclif 13y ago

That's not what they did. It should be noted that in the announcements that I've seen, Google has counted only active Google+ users. This is the "ghost town" ruse all over again. It's weak sauce and demonstrably facile. You can bash Google+ all you want, but it's not going to impress people who enjoy using it very much. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/the-loyal-users-of-google-plus-say-it-is-no-ghost-town/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/the-loyal-users-of-...

cma 13y ago
Does "active" Google+ users include people who are logged in and have plus-related stuff-they-don't-care-about in their standard google header? Or people who just reciprocate circle-adds but don't engage whatsoever?
- hangonhn 13y ago
  Good point. "Active" shouldn't be a binary term. It should be more like "active engagement". Technically I'm an "active" user of Google+ but I don't spend more than a minute on there if I can help it.
- wahnfrieden 13y ago
  Or even just people who click the bell when it's lit up red to make the notification go away.
  - rhizome 13y ago
    Engagement hacking!
  - tripzilch 13y ago
    Shit I do all those things, I don't even know why...
- res0nat0r 13y ago
  All of the complaining about ghost towns isn't going to change the fact that G+ isn't going anywhere as long as Google stays as successful as it is right now.
  - pessimizer 13y ago
    Did anybody suggest that G+ should go somewhere before you did?
    - res0nat0r 13y ago
      Yes. All of the threads above about ghost town imply that it needs to die off and Google should give it up and get rid of the service since they don't believe it is valuable, hence ghost-town. Ain't happenin'.
  - wlesieutre 13y ago
    At first I thought you mean that in the same sense that my plans for energy-positive cold fusion aren't going anywhere. I'd say both interpretations apply.
- notatoad 13y ago
  the last numbers i saw for Google+ usage specified "active in the stream", which isn't incredibly clear but sounds like they mean actually engaging. http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2013/10/google-hangouts-and-photos-save-some.html http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2013/10/google-hangouts-and-ph... (at the very bottom)
durga 13y ago
Don't buy the "x million use the google+ site regularly every month" number. The number of people who actively use g+ is miniscule. Don't believe me? Put a status message on fb and ask how many of them use g+. Or post it on linkedin or email all your contacts. Pretty much any decent product has a small number of fans. That doesn't make it "successful" by any statistical standards.
- wyclif 13y ago
  The number of people who actively use g+ is miniscule [citation needed] Weak sauce, I say. It's readily apparent that they are the #2 social network in terms of actual usage. Put a status message on fb and ask how many of them use g+ Shall I also ask MySpace users how many of them use G+? Seriously, that "ghost town" bullshit simply isn't going to fly. It's been done to death, everybody's heard it, and anybody who is actually, you know, active on Google+ laughs at people who repeat it.
  - ianstormtaylor 13y ago
    The reason the misconception is still around is because the group of people laughing about the ghost-towners on Google+ is so small to begin with that the general trend never gets corrected. In other words, because it's true ;) PS. I think you're using "weak sauce" incorrectly.
    - wyclif 13y ago
      I think you're using "weak sauce" incorrectly Not at all: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weaksauce http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=weaksauce
  - pscsbs 13y ago
    Googlers like to think that G+ is one of the biggest social networks. The reason the reported numbers are so high is because now YouTube users have to integrate with G+ and all sorts of Google products funnel users in. These users do one thing, and never use the service again.
halostatue 13y ago
I'm sure that Google counts me as an active G+ user (maybe twice or even three times, since I have my normal gmail account, my GAFYD, and the GAFYD for the company I work at). I think I've re-shared three things over the last three years, commented on maybe twice that, and I'm not sure I've posted a single original post there. I'm almost completely disconnected from whatever “community” G+ purports to offer, and at least one of the G+ profiles that I have was only created so that I could do hangouts with folks in the company (and we end up using Skype more often anyway). So yes, it's exactly what Google did.