After reading a post on The Next Web entitled, “
48% of Google+ users have never made a public post” I
wondered aloudto myself on my Twitter Feed about whether or not I had made a public post on Google+, of which I’ve been a member of for about a month already.The answer still is, I’m not sure. I think I posted a link a few weeks ago, but the Next Web article got me wondering. Did everyone join Google+ because it was the next big thing? Who is actually engaging and utilizing Google+ on a daily basis? I still log onto Facebook multiple times per day (both for
business and personal reasons) and haven’t logged into Google+ for at least 2 weeks. Granted, I was out of the country from August 4-13, but I had managed to log onto Facebook at least once a day while I was gone, why didn’t I care as much about Google+ (or Twitter, for that matter)?
There are a variety of reasons why, despite it’s large amass of members (over 10 million) and number of shares in a
very short about of time, the fact of the matter is, Google+ isn’t Facebook. And it will never be Facebook. Facebook has millions of members and is sharing billions of pieces of information every day.
Expecting Google+ to become as popular as Facebook is like when the new CFL and LED lighbulbs came out. Do CFL lightbulbs save money, last for 5-10 years (or longer), and help save the environment? Yes. But people have been using ‘regular’ lightbulbs for over 200 years, and as MSNBC points out, people aren’t warming to the new bulbs.
Even though the government is forcing the ‘phasing out’ of the old lightbulbs mandatory, the fact of the matter is, people don’t like change. They enjoy ‘liking’ posts. They don’t want to ‘+1’ them. And while the internet remains so popular because it offers everyone around the world choices and freedom, too many choices can also be a downfall.
To me, sharing a link or blog post I’ve written can only be shared in so many places before I either forget where I haven’t shared or it becomes to much. Ideally, I should share this blog post on Facebook, Twitter (@thesocialrobot AND @wonderwall7), LinkedIn (The Social Robot AND my personal page), StumbleUpon, and Digg. Adding Google+ to this list is really the last of my worries. Even though I live and breathe social media (and have even managed to make a career I love out of it), adding Google+ to my life makes me contemplate when it is all too much.
Kelsey Jones helps clients around the world grow their social media, content, and search marketing presence. She enjoys writing and consuming all kinds of content, both in digital and tattered paperback form.