You know how doctors sometimes have to amputate patients’ limb(s) because an infection have gotten out of hand? Well, that’s what happening to Google Plus (Google+). Google’s very own social network that was meant to go head-to-head with Facebook is officially being “amputated.” It will cease to exist starting August 31, 2019. Rest in peace, Google Plus. You were as good as it lasts… if there was any good to begin with. I still recall how Google Plus was forced into blogs and websites like us, as with YouTube users. Having something you didn’t want pushed into your face was, obviously, a happy experience. TBH, I am glad it is finally over for good.
Anyways, in case you are wondering… no, Google Plus is not infected by some disease, but the situation is no less dire that it calls for a complete cessation of the social network. The story went that Google Plus is plagued by a major security breach, as revealed by Project Strobe, that would render a half million users’ data being exposed and apparently, unlike most security breach, it was deemed beyond redemption and hence, the decision to axe Google+ for good. Google admitted that Google Plus “has not achieved broad consumer or developer adoption, and has seen limited user interaction with apps.” The hell it is and TBH, it is not hard to see why.
Even the basics like the user interface is a major fail. It is not intuitive, much less user-friendly. And don’t even get me started with the confusing account this and account that. The same thing has plagued YouTube, but the video hosting platform has a saving grace: it has billions of videos across a broad range of topics overshadowing the confusion. To this date, I never gotten my head around my personal account and blog account. Like never ever. Same thing is happening with Facebook. I don’t understand why can’t a Facebook Page’s administrator not have a personal Facebook account? I don’t get it. And I guess I never will.
Google Plus has about 110+ million active users and that, in social media’s perspective, is not exactly awesome. It is a far cry from Facebook’s 2 billion plus users. Heck, it is even lacking behind U.S.-centric Snapchat by nearly 300 million users. Google Plus’ implementation had a bad start and never really did make a recovery. Since the beginning, Google+ is more like a bench warmer than anything else. It was never at the forefront, much less leading the pack. We were obliged to use because, Google is the giant that blogs like us can’t afford to ignore. We are no Gizmodo or Engadget. We are pretty much at the Mountain View tech company’s mercy.
When it calls for authorship. We obliged or face ‘persecution’ in the form of not being able to rank in its search. The same goes for Google Plus when it was rolled out in 2011. We were blackmailed into using it. I am not going lie. I didn’t like it and you’d be right that I am freaking glad that it is over. Anywho, if you are interested, you can read about the final straw that brought down this social network ran by the world richest and biggest search engine HERE.
Featured image by Mikes Photos via Pexels, edited by Mikeshouts.
Source: Boing Boing.
