Google Plus was a Google-owned social network that operated from 2011 to 2019. Its low usage and engagement due to convoluted sign-up processes and bundling with Gmail accounts. Google Plus also suffered two major breaches of privacy after bugs were found in its API. The first breach was kept a secret for six months, while the second affected over 52 million user accounts. Google Plus for consumers was rebranded as Shoelace, a community-based meet-up service for like-minded individuals that was itself shut down because of COVID-19 protocols. Google Plus for business still exists in some form as Google Currents.
Aspect
Explanation
Introduction and Goals
Google+ (pronounced Google Plus) was a social networking platform developed by Google Inc. It was officially launched to the public in June 2011. Google’s goal with Google+ was to create a social network that could compete with existing platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It aimed to offer features such as Circles (for organizing contacts), Hangouts (for video conferencing), and integration with other Google services. Google+ was designed to be a comprehensive social network that integrated seamlessly with the Google ecosystem.
Initial Hype and Adoption
Google+ generated significant buzz upon its launch, partly due to Google’s reputation and its attempt to enter the social media space. It introduced several unique features, such as the ability to categorize contacts into Circles, allowing for selective sharing. Early adopters and tech enthusiasts joined the platform to explore its offerings. Google+ integration with other Google services, like Gmail and Google Photos, encouraged users to join and connect with their existing contacts.
User Engagement and Circles
Circles were a key feature of Google+ that allowed users to organize their contacts into groups (such as friends, family, and colleagues) and share content selectively with specific Circles. This feature was praised for its privacy and sharing control. Google+ also emphasized the concept of “Hangouts,” which enabled video conferencing and group chats. User engagement varied, with some users enjoying the platform’s unique features, while others continued to primarily use Facebook or Twitter for social networking.
Challenges and Privacy Concerns
Google+ faced challenges in gaining widespread adoption. Facebook remained the dominant social network, making it challenging for Google+ to compete. Some users found Google+ to be confusing or less intuitive compared to other platforms. Additionally, privacy concerns arose regarding Google+’s data collection practices and its integration with Google services, leading to scrutiny by regulators. Google+ also faced criticism for its real-name policy, which required users to use their real names, resulting in account suspensions for those who did not comply.
Business and Marketing Focus
Google+ also targeted businesses with features like Google+ Pages, which allowed companies to create profiles and interact with customers. The platform aimed to enhance online marketing efforts through Google+’s SEO benefits and the potential to reach a broader audience. Google attempted to leverage Google+ for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, which led to the controversial integration of Google+ profiles with Google Search results. This effort to boost Google+ engagement had mixed results and faced backlash from users and competitors.
Decline and Shutdown
Over time, it became evident that Google+ was not achieving the level of success Google had hoped for. User engagement did not match that of Facebook, and privacy concerns continued to linger. In October 2018, Google announced that it had discovered a data breach that exposed the personal information of Google+ users. As a result, Google decided to shut down the consumer version of Google+ in April 2019. The shutdown was accelerated, moving the date from August 2019 to April 2019. Google cited low user engagement and the data breach as the primary reasons for discontinuing the platform.
Legacy and Impact
Google’s foray into social networking through Google+ may not have been as successful as envisioned, but it left a lasting impact. Some features, such as Hangouts and Circles, influenced subsequent Google products and services. The lessons learned from Google+’s experience informed Google’s approach to privacy and data handling in other services. Additionally, the closure of Google+ raised discussions about the challenges and ethical considerations of data handling and privacy in social media platforms. Overall, while Google+ did not become a major competitor to Facebook, it played a role in shaping Google’s broader strategy and approach to social networking and online privacy.
Table of Contents
Background
Google Plus was a Google-owned social network launched on June 28, 2011, by Bradley Horowitz and Vic Gundotra.
The service formed part of a suite of Google products including Google Drive, Blogger, and YouTube to compete with Facebook, among other platforms.
Google Plus was shut down in 2019, becoming the company’s third failed attempt at creating a social network after Orkut in 2004 and Google Buzz in 2010.
What happened to Google Plus? How did it fail with the power and influence of parent company Google behind it? Read on to find out.
Low usage and engagement
Google software engineer Ben Smith noted that the platform had failed to meet expectations around growth and adoption. “While our engineering teams have put a lot of effort and dedication into building Google+ over the years, it has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps.”
Perhaps more damning for the platform was that according to Smith, 90% of all Google Plus user sessions lasted less than five seconds. It is generally accepted that low usage and engagement were caused by Google forcing new users to jump through too many hoops. At one point, it required them to create an account to comment on ancillary services such as YouTube. It also tied Google Plus to the process of signing up for a Gmail account – whether the user wanted a new social account or not.
Data leaks
In early 2018, it was revealed Google had discovered a bug in the Google Plus API. This bug allowed third-party app developers to access the data of users and also their friends. Google knew about the vulnerability for around six months, only choosing to come clean once a Wall Street Journal publicly outed the company.
A second data leak occurred soon after, causing the company to bring forward the shutdown by four months. Significantly, the second leak impacted some 52.5 million users with names, email addresses, occupations, and ages exposed.
Consumer shutdown and business rebranding
The consumer version of Google Plus was shut down in April 2019. Google Shoelace was then launched three months, serving as a quasi-replacement for its predecessor. Shoelace aimed to bring together individuals in a community with similar interests, but it too was shut down after becoming another victim of COVID-19 social distancing.
The business version, on the other hand, was rebranded as Google Currents for G Suite users to facilitate better collaboration within organizations.
Key takeaways:
Google Plus was a Google-owned social network that operated from 2011 to 2019. The platform suffered from low usage and engagement due to convoluted sign-up processes and bundling with Gmail accounts.
Google Plus suffered two major breaches of privacy after bugs were found in its API. The first breach was kept a secret for six months, while the second affected over 52 million user accounts.
Google Plus for consumers was rebranded as Shoelace, a community-based meet-up service for like-minded individuals that was itself shut down because of COVID-19 protocols. Google Plus for business still exists in some form as Google Currents.
Timeline
Launch and Google’s Ambitions: Google Plus was launched in 2011 as Google’s social networking platform to compete with Facebook. It was part of a suite of products to expand Google’s social presence.
Low Usage and Engagement: Google Plus failed to meet expectations in terms of growth and adoption. The platform suffered from low usage and engagement, with many user sessions lasting less than five seconds. The convoluted sign-up process and mandatory bundling with Gmail accounts contributed to its unpopularity.
Data Leaks and Privacy Breaches: Google Plus faced privacy issues with two major data leaks. In 2018, a bug in the API allowed third-party app developers to access user and friend data. Google knew about it for months before disclosure. The second leak affected 52.5 million users, prompting an earlier shutdown.
Consumer Shutdown and Business Rebranding: The consumer version of Google Plus was shut down in 2019 due to its declining popularity. Google Shoelace, a community-based meet-up service, was introduced but was later shut down due to COVID-19 protocols. The business version was rebranded as Google Currents for G Suite users to improve collaboration within organizations.
WeWork is a commercial real estate company providing shared workspaces for tech start-ups and other enterprise services. It was founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010. WeWork’s business model was built on complex arrangements between the company and its landlords. There were also several conflicts of interest between Neumann and WeWork, which provided the impetus for the failed IPO and significant devaluation that would follow.
Netscape – or Netscape Communications Corporation – was a computer services company best known for its web browser. The company was founded in 1994 by Marc Andreessen and James H. Clark as one of the internet’s first and most important start-ups. The Netscape Navigator web browser was released in 1995 and became the browser of choice for the users of the time. By November 1998, it had been acquired by AOL, which tried unsuccessfully to revive the popularity of the web browser. Ten years later, Netscape was shut down entirely.
Musically, or Musical.ly as it is officially known, was a Chinese social media platform headquartered in Shanghai. After passing 200 million users in May 2017, the platform was shut down by tech company ByteDance in November. After its acquisition, ByteDance suggested Musical.ly would continue to operate as a standalone platform. Company representatives noted that it would be able to leverage ByteDance’s AI technology and enormous reach in the Chinese market. Musically was ultimately absorbed into TikTok in June 2018, with the app no longer available in August of the same year. Existing users were offered technical support and several new features as a sweetener.
Vine was an American video social networking platform with a focus on looping video clips of six seconds in length, founded by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll in 2012 to help people capture casual moments in their lives and share them with their friends. Vine went on to become a massively popular platform. Yet by 2016, Twitter discontinued the mobile app, allowing users to view or download content on the Vine website. It then announced a reconfigured app allowing creators to share content to a connected Twitter account only. This marked the end of Vine.
CNN Plus was a video streaming service and offshoot of CNN’s cable TV news network that was launched on March 29, 2022. The service was ultimately shut down just one month after it was launched. Trouble began for the platform when parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery. The latter was unimpressed with paltry viewer data and, with $55 billion in debt to clear, was not interested in funding CNN+ moving forward. Other contributing factors to CNN Plus’s demise include a lack of compelling content and streaming service market saturation.
Clubhouse is a social app that allows thousands of people to communicate with each other in audio chat rooms. At one point, the company was worth $4 billion and boasted users such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Clubhouse declined because it rode the wave of pandemic lockdowns and suffered when people resumed their normal routines. The decision to remove the invite-only feature also caused a rapid influx of new members and removed any exclusivity. Clubhouse management also failed to define a business model and was unaware of the components of a successful social media site.
Carvana is an American online used car retailer headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. The company – which sells cars in unique vending machines – was the fastest-growing used vehicle retailer in the United States, with revenue of $3.94 billion in 2019. Yet by 2022, on $12.8 billion in revenue, the company reported almost $2.9 billion in net losses.
Houseparty was an app-based group video chat platform for mobile and desktop. Released in February 2016, the platform rapidly grew to hundreds of millions of users and was the #1 social app in 82 countries by May 2020. Less than 18 months later, however, owner Epic Games announced that it would be shutting down the app in October 2021. Let’s explain the reasons for Houseparty’s demise below.
ChaCha was a human-guided search engine founded in 2006. The platform provided a valuable service at a time when traditional search engine algorithms were unreliable and less developed.
When algorithms did become sufficiently developed, they provided answers to questions for free and much more rapidly than ChaCha could. The ChaCha business model was also unscalable, with employees overworked as the company tried to stay ahead of innovation.
ChaCha’s demise was also compounded by the smartphone, which provided another avenue for consumers to find information. A belated attempt to restructure and cut costs followed, but the company could not service its debt past 2016.
RadioShack is an American electronics retailer founded by brothers Milton and Theodore Deutschmann in 1921. The company enjoyed market dominance in the 70s and 80s but faded fast after a slew of missed opportunities.
RadioShack operated over four thousand stores in the USA, but many were placed too close together which caused sales cannibalization. These stores were also often small and had a confusing inventory mix.
RadioShack sold the first mass-produced personal computer with much success. However, the company saw no future in personal computers because of the high cost of hardware. It then instructed sales managers to intentionally keep PC sales under a certain threshold.
Compaq was an American developer and producer of computer products and services. After strong initial success, the company was acquired by HP in 2002 with the Compaq brand retired in 2013.
Compaq’s short-sighted acquisition of DEC provided the catalyst for its decline. While the company was dealing with the ramifications of the acquisition, competitors such as Dell and Gateway increased their market share.
Compaq also experienced a loss in revenue after the dot-com bubble burst. This was exacerbated by the standardization of chipsets and motherboards by Intel.
Kodak is an American photography product and service company founded in 1892 by George Eastman and Henry A. Strong. After dominating the photographic film industry for decades, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
Kodak was not ignorant of digital camera technology. But it did fail at various stages to commit to digital products entirely despite overwhelming evidence that the technology would prove profitable.
Kodak was also the victim of the changing retail landscape and consumer sentiment toward foreign products in the United States. Blind in its devotion to printing, it also missed an opportunity to create a Facebook-style photo-sharing website three years before Facebook itself was conceived.
Friendster was a social networking site that then transitioned to a gaming platform. Ultimately, Friendster failed to capitalize on its early success as one of the first social media platforms to experience mass uptake.
When Friendster became a gaming platform, it failed to notify its user base. This set in motion the migration of users to Facebook which would continue for some years.
Friendster’s decision to raise funds via venture capital funding populated its board with investors who were not interested in technology or innovation. The company was acquired by MOL Global in 2009 who then sold its patents to Facebook soon after.
xStumbleUpon was an early social network founded by Garrett Camp, Geoff Smith, Justin LaFrance, and Eric Boyd. At one point, the platform was responsible for half of all social media traffic in the United States.
StumbleUpon suffered intense competition from the likes of Pinterest, Digg, and Reddit – both in terms of site functionality and monetization strategy. After a failed partnership with eBay, Camp bought back the company and instituted a major redesign to limited success.
The StumbleUpon user experience became outdated as consumers preferred to waste time scrolling through news feeds. Upon this realization, Camp shut down the service in 2018 to focus on a more modern iteration called Mix.com
Altavista was a pioneering search engine developed by a group of Digital Equipment (DEC) researchers. It was originally created to showcase the power of a then-revolutionary DEC supercomputer.
After an ominous partnership with Yahoo in 1996, AltaVista underwent a series of acquisitions and format charges as several companies tried to make it profitable. In the process, the search engine lost market share to up-and-comer Google.
Yahoo acquired AltaVista in 2003 and absorbed the technology behind the search engine into its own platform. AltaVista was formally put to rest ten years later.
Blockbuster was an American movie and video game rental chain. The company went from industry leader to filing for bankruptcy with $1 billion in debt in less than a decade.
Blockbuster relied on late fees to drive a high proportion of revenue. This strategy proved uncompetitive after Netflix offered fee-free movie rentals by mail. Blockbuster lost significant market share to Netflix in the ensuing years and experienced a decline in profit after abolishing late fees in an attempt to remain competitive.
Blockbuster’s demise is mostly due to an inability to innovate. Although passing on the offer to purchase Netflix is noteworthy, the company failed because of a myopic focus on its outdated rental franchise model.
Napster was a peer-to-peer music-sharing software application. It was the first such platform to provide free access to the full history of recorded music online.
Napster quickly attracted the attention of music artists, with Metallica instigating court proceedings against the company for copyright infringement and the distribution of unreleased music.
Napster was forced to shut down after the Recording Industry Association of America won a court injunction. Mounting legal fees and compensation costs led to the company filing for bankruptcy in 2002.
BlackBerry is an iconic smartphone brand owned by Canadian company BlackBerry Limited. The company enjoyed first-mover status in the smartphone industry, but ultimately squandered its advantage.
BlackBerry was ignorant and in some ways disrespectful of competitors in the industry. It was more concerned with protecting its proprietary technology than innovating to stay relevant.
Though profitable to some extent, BlackBerry’s focus on enterprise customers came at the expense of the far more lucrative consumer market. Government opposition to censoring information also eroded one of the core strengths of the company’s smartphone.
Nokia is a Finnish telecommunications, consumer technology, and information technology company founded in 1865. It enjoyed 51% of the global market share for mobile phones in 1998.
Nokia’s device-based hardware system was cumbersome and outdated, but the company persisted with it while competitors developed the software-based iOS and Android operating systems. By the time Nokia phones offered Android, the company had been left behind.
Corporate mismanagement within Nokia was rife and culture suffered as a result. Internally and externally, the company failed to acknowledge its diminishing relevance and market share.
Xerox is an American corporation selling print and digital document products and services worldwide. The company failed to capitalize on revolutionary research performed at its PARC R&D center.
Xerox was visited by Steve Jobs in 1979 who gained access to PARC in exchange for Xerox receiving shares in Apple. He then purchased the rights to a Xerox GUI and used it to produce the Apple Macintosh.
Xerox released the Xerox Star personal computer in 1981 in a rare example of the company selling an innovative product commercially. However, the Star was prohibitively expensive, targeted the wrong market, and was a decade ahead of its time.
Quibi was an American short-form streaming service for smartphones. Unfortunate timing with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is at least partly responsible for the failure of the platform.
Despite billions being invested in securing high-end talent and production studios, Quibi content was generally poor quality. In any case, there was no way for consumers to share or engage with the content they did enjoy.
Quibi was not helped by its pricingstrategy and the presence of established competitors offering more for less. It was also improperly and inadequately marketed.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
