Happy One Month Birthday my dear little G+ (Google+)!
Here is a sexy Happy Birthday song for you! :)
My dear G+ (aka Google+),
I hope you will forgive me in not liking you when you were only 2 days old! Silly old me thought you were just like your time wasting siblings Google Wave and Buzz. But, at one month, you turned out cuter than I thought initially and I am willing to wait a little before declaring you “the best thing since slice bread”, “you suck” or “somewhere in betwen”! :)
(note: After my personal greetings, you will see some excerpts of Birthday Wishes and Birthday Minuses from around the web.)
I’ve read one of your many parents Andy Hertzfeld‘s G+ contribution and even his clarification. And will soon find some time to watch your beautiful birthing video ala Steven Levy‘s “Inside Google+ — How the Search Giant Plans to Go Social“.
You see, I have also started calling you my Lovemark which is much cooler than the boring old school brand. Being called a Lovemark comes with great responsibility. I know you are too young to remember the 1985 Coca-Cola‘s (an indisputable Lovemark) crazy New Coke debacle but it is one lesson in brand management that you have to learn in pre-school. We, the millions of users, are now in control and will be actively shaping your destiny. YOU better listen to our complains and our wishes very carefully.
Please tell your parents (i.e. Goolge), if they mess you up or worst “cancel” you, then their credibility in providing “tools” in general, will be damaged seriously, possibly beyond repair. Three strikes in rapid succession, why should anyone trust Google any more? I may be naive, but I am not that stupid!
Anyway, on your one month birthday, I hope to publish two articles to share my general & technical insights of G+ Hangouts with KOMU anchor Sarah Hill and others.
My dear G+, you are only one month old, I am willing to give you time to grow, learn and to be helpful to people. I can’t help but want to use this particular Marshall McLuhan quote when I think of you today.
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us.” – Marshall McLuhan
With Love and here is a sexy Happy Birthday,
*******
P.S. Interesting to include this Mashable article, “Google+ Hangouts: 4 Creative Ways People Are Using Group Video Chat”
*******
Again, allow me to use two of my favourite forecast-related quotes by Edgar R. Fiedler from my quotes I love collection,
“The herd instinct among forecasters makes sheep look like independent thinkers.” and;
“If you have to forecast, forecast often.”
Here are some excerpts of Birthday Wishes and Birthday Minuses from around the web.
TechCrunch, “Sophomore Slump? One Month In, Google+ Sees A Traffic Minus”
“While it’s totally circumstantial, my own observations and usage seem to support this data as well. After initially checking it several times a day, I now load Google+ about twice a day, mainly to see if I’m missing anything. I rarely find that I am.
[…] Part of that may be Google’s own fault. They really screwed up the brand situation. They even gutted one of our employees who just wanted to share content.
It would be hard to overstate just how important this second phase of Google+ is for Google. While they’re not a small startup limited by resources and money, they still only get one chance to make a first impression. In the first two weeks, that impression was very good. In the last two, not as good.
I’m sure this post will get a hundred comments on Google+ about why I’m wrong, an idiot, something about Apple, and why Google+ is the bomb. I’d argue that this may be a part of the overall problem — one we’ve seen before. But that’s beside the point. It doesn’t matter what anyone says. All that matters is what Google does with Google+.”
Identical article here in Washington Post.
Bloomberg, “Google+ U.S. Visitors Spend Less Time on Site, Hitwise Says”
“Google Inc. (GOOG)’s new social-networking service, Google+, saw fewer U.S. visitors last week and users are spending less time on the site, signaling that its momentum may be slowing, according to Experian Hitwise.
Total Google+ visits fell about 3 percent to 1.79 million in the U.S. in the week ended July 23 from the prior seven days, said Experian Hitwise, which tracks Web traffic. Google+ visits had risen 283 percent in the week ended July 16. The average time spent on the site in the most recent week declined 10 percent to 5 minutes and 15 seconds, the research firm found.”
Another via Bloomberg article, this one form TIME.
“For now, though, I have to admit I kind of like it. There’s mystery and potential here, a little like the allure and do-over possibilities of moving to a new town in ninth grade.
Not that I don’t still think all of these social networking sites are hijacking our lives. Surely even the most ardent Facebookers won’t lie on their deathbeds one day saying, “I should have ‘liked’ more posts.” But given the choice between the homecoming dance and this awkward new dance that is Google+, I’ll choose awkwardness.
Besides, right now all anyone’s doing is getting drunk in the parking lot. And that can be the best part.”
Discovery Magazine, “~1 month into the new social network order”
“Meanwhile, Google+ has hit a major snag with their “real names” policy. If there’s one thing that Facebook has learned, it’s that you better be responsive after a major mistake. After a few weeks of Google+ I think most people agreed that Google “got” the social web. But at this point I’m not so sure. I don’t have a major opinion about their policies, but their public relations hasn’t been optimal.
Finally, I have to add that right now my Google+ “stream” is far more dynamic and value-added than my Facebook wall. There’s way more commentary and response. That’s partly a function of the excitement over the new platform, but I wonder if circles has energized many people. I’m not a major user at this point, but I have used Google+ in a way I wouldn’t have on Facebook because of the ease of narrow-casting.”
The Atlantic Wire, “A Month After Launch and Google+ Visits Slow”
“During these first few weeks, Google+ has also weathered a few controversies–one involving allowing users to use names other than their real ones, and another in which they kicked off business profiles. While the network came out of these alive, certainly the bad moves turned some users turned away from the site, argues Perez.
Yet, the data comes with a few caveats, and Google doesn’t think it should start freaking out quite yet. A third party site, Experian Hitwise, which tracks Web traffic (not the official Google metric) calculated the numbers. Google cautioned that the measurement is based on visitors and not users, and that third party metrics don’t factor in mobile usage and navigation bar, reports CNET’s Steve Musil. Additionally, the data is U.S. only and Google+ is technically still in Beta, Siegler reminds critics. But, for Siegler, the specifics don’t matter all that much. “Still, the trend is the important thing: traffic is down week to week.””
Mashable, “Google+ Traffic Falls As Users Spend Less Time on Site”
****
Finally, this article seems interesting and I will try to spend some time to read.
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Subscribe by email
Kempton - ideas Revolutionary 
[…] to me, is one of the many powerful things we can do with Google+ Hangouts. And we are just at the one month birthday of G+, at the beginning of all the […]