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> Everybody [...] focused intently on spending all of their energy not leaving Facebook for some reason. The hate-on for Google+ was above tepid. Really? I don

by kolme 12y ago

> Everybody [...] focused intently on spending all of their energy not leaving Facebook for some reason. The hate-on for Google+ was above tepid. Really? I don't think so. At the very beginning there were two distinctly separate groups: The geeks, a minority which were eager to jump on the G+ boat -- And the non geeks, which were helplessly oblivious of it, or the advantages were not worth the hassle to them. It just didn't gain enough momentum, and it was not because of any hate. Years later though, they began cramming it down people's throats, for example with the annoying pop-ups in Youtube, riddled with dark patterns. Really, don't-be-evil Google? Really? That's when people started (rightfully) getting pissed off.

wyclif 12y ago
It just didn't gain enough momentum You write as if Google+ is past tense. I think you've drunk the Kool-aid that TechCrunch is serving. Disclosure: I'm very, very active on Google+, and so are a lot of my friends. I've been circled by about 10,000 users and have almost 1,500,000 views. Google+ is quite popular with a certain demographic: very technical people, engineers, developers, and programmers. Also Android fans, photographers and artsy people. I'm sorry you don't like Google+, and it's fine with me that you express a negative opinion about it. But let's stop the silly "Google+ is a ghost town" false rhetoric. It's manifestly, demonstrably untrue, and it doesn't do you any favours when you try to make a case like that. Let it go. Let the people who appreciate Google+ enjoy it. Google+ is still growing by leaps and bounds, and I expect it will continue to do so whether you like it or not.
- coldtea 12y ago
  >Disclosure: I'm very, very active on Google+, and so are a lot of my friends. I've been circled by about 10,000 users and have almost 1,500,000 views. Google+ is quite popular with a certain demographic: very technical people, engineers, developers, and programmers. Also Android fans, photographers and artsy people. Those are hardly enough to make it viable. 1.500.000 views? There are cat videos that have as many...
- aeturnum 12y ago
  His anecdote is no better than yours from where I'm sitting. I've got lots of tech savvy friends including developers, engineers, photographers, and artsy people. My friends are in my g+ circles from whenever Google opened the flood gates. I haven't checked in a while, but iirc the last post was over a year (or two) ago. Saying, "it's not a ghost town [for me]" is no more or less valuable than the opposite experience. I'm glad you're enjoying g+, but that fact doesn't say much about the service.
  - res0nat0r 12y ago
    According to Wikipedia there are 540 million active accounts as of Oct 2013, the ghost town trope needs to die because it is simply incorrect.
    - jkrems 12y ago
      As defined as: "has at least left a comment on YouTube". I'm not sure I'd count that as "active G+ users".
    - aeturnum 12y ago
      I don't think it matters what people call it. If G+ works for you, who cares if people call it a ghost town? Your G+ certainly doesn't sound like one. If we wanted to have a substantive discussion about how well G+ is doing, we'd need to know a lot of specifics about G+ (as well as define what 'well' means in this context). Can 540 million active accounts be a ghost town? Depends on what 'active' and 'ghost town' mean. If we're just going to throw around labels without definitions or data, people just end up supporting the idea that feels right in their gut.
- kolme 12y ago
  I don't have anything against G+, or people using it! Where did you get that impression? What really bothers me is Google trying to force it on people through other Google products. I read Linus and other personalities on G+, I'm also not implying it's a ghost town. It just didn't gather enough momentum to attract the mass of "regular" casual users.

by kolme 12y ago

wyclif 12y ago

It just didn't gain enough momentum You write as if Google+ is past tense. I think you've drunk the Kool-aid that TechCrunch is serving. Disclosure: I'm very, very active on Google+, and so are a lot of my friends. I've been circled by about 10,000 users and have almost 1,500,000 views. Google+ is quite popular with a certain demographic: very technical people, engineers, developers, and programmers. Also Android fans, photographers and artsy people. I'm sorry you don't like Google+, and it's fine with me that you express a negative opinion about it. But let's stop the silly "Google+ is a ghost town" false rhetoric. It's manifestly, demonstrably untrue, and it doesn't do you any favours when you try to make a case like that. Let it go. Let the people who appreciate Google+ enjoy it. Google+ is still growing by leaps and bounds, and I expect it will continue to do so whether you like it or not.

coldtea 12y ago
>Disclosure: I'm very, very active on Google+, and so are a lot of my friends. I've been circled by about 10,000 users and have almost 1,500,000 views. Google+ is quite popular with a certain demographic: very technical people, engineers, developers, and programmers. Also Android fans, photographers and artsy people. Those are hardly enough to make it viable. 1.500.000 views? There are cat videos that have as many...
aeturnum 12y ago
His anecdote is no better than yours from where I'm sitting. I've got lots of tech savvy friends including developers, engineers, photographers, and artsy people. My friends are in my g+ circles from whenever Google opened the flood gates. I haven't checked in a while, but iirc the last post was over a year (or two) ago. Saying, "it's not a ghost town [for me]" is no more or less valuable than the opposite experience. I'm glad you're enjoying g+, but that fact doesn't say much about the service.
- res0nat0r 12y ago
  According to Wikipedia there are 540 million active accounts as of Oct 2013, the ghost town trope needs to die because it is simply incorrect.
  - jkrems 12y ago
    As defined as: "has at least left a comment on YouTube". I'm not sure I'd count that as "active G+ users".
  - aeturnum 12y ago
    I don't think it matters what people call it. If G+ works for you, who cares if people call it a ghost town? Your G+ certainly doesn't sound like one. If we wanted to have a substantive discussion about how well G+ is doing, we'd need to know a lot of specifics about G+ (as well as define what 'well' means in this context). Can 540 million active accounts be a ghost town? Depends on what 'active' and 'ghost town' mean. If we're just going to throw around labels without definitions or data, people just end up supporting the idea that feels right in their gut.
kolme 12y ago
I don't have anything against G+, or people using it! Where did you get that impression? What really bothers me is Google trying to force it on people through other Google products. I read Linus and other personalities on G+, I'm also not implying it's a ghost town. It just didn't gather enough momentum to attract the mass of "regular" casual users.