Google+, the social network of Internet giant Google, is streamlining its services to better serve its customers. It is obviously not giving up on its mostly failed foray into social network platforms. The update was rolled out on Tuesday and much focus was put on the Communities and Collections functions of Google+.
Google+ was first launched a few years ago in 2011 and technically has more than 2 billion users. This is so because a Google account automatically gets its own Google+ page. However, in reality, just about 10% of users actually post anything on the platform.
Stone Temple used data from 516,000 accounts of the 2.2 billion total userbase. From there, the consultancy agency estimated that Google+ really had just about 212 million active users. To compare, Facebook announced in September that it has already breached the 1 billion daily active users, CNET reported.
The Communities function lets users join groups that discuss different hobbies and passion niches. Collections, on the other hand, lets users compile posts on areas of their interest, like Pinterest or Reddit. Examples are health and photography. Google+ is betting on these two functions as the bases of a revitalized Google+ that users will actually enjoy using.
This shift in focus tries to differentiate the Facebook experience by making Google+ more about shared hobbies than anything else. Eddie Kessler, Google's streams director, said in a blog post that “everything from Zombie Cats to Vintage Calculators” are covered in the specific interests that the new Google+ is offering its users.
This focus is not just a “great” way to change things up, it also doubles as an advertising machine, The Guardian noted. It would be significantly easier to sell highly specialized adverts according to interests but, at the moment, Google is not yet allowing advertisers access to the Google+ community.
