Google+ is key!

I tend to disagree with most postings here. I've used google+ to find groups that are related to my narrow niche and have been quite pleased with the results.

There are groups with good topic-focused content that I regularly visit and like others have mentioned, when I add my blog posts they seem to go right to the top of the search results.

Eddie I honestly think 25% to 50% of Facebook's monthly active accounts are "fake" secondary accounts of soem kind. Though I think the majority are not for marketing but for games and such. I'm not sure I know anyone who has not at some point used 2 or more accounts in a month. I did it in the past but don't anymore as I use my personal account to run any pages I need to.

My problem with G+ is that by it's nature it is more of a lie than Facebook. It weeds out fakes better but the problem is the average G+ user isn't using G+. They are using Google in some way but being counted due to how Google shows active users.

G+ is a relative wasteland but of course it is a wasteland in the same sense Dubai is. So there are still loads of people there. Just not the number Google says and not anywhere near the numbers that Facebook has.

As for the idea that G+ will be better for conversions. I see it to a point. Especially in certain niches. I would expect the Make Money niche to be strong given all the marketers there. Same as how that niche sells here.

So for many people G+ makes sense. G+ is many ways does seem to be (based on second hand knowledge) more of a pure marketing place vs. a social marketing place. So I would expect higher conversions.

But Facebook is the bigger pond with more fish. For that reason I see G+ as more of a place to promote high performing offers. But if they perform well and you get potential customers in your circles isn't it likely they also like your Facebook page? So how many extra sales will you get if your G+ list is smaller (which it should be) and there is significant overlap?

And in the long run I personally don't see G+ growing. Hell the only reason they really need G+ is for the social data that Facebook blocks them from having. But sooner or later Facebook is going to need the cash and when that happens and Google gets the data they will stop pimping G+ and IMO within 3 years following that date G+ will be gone or at least put into limbo.

G+ isn't a good social network because it wasn't designed to be a good social network. It was designed to capture the social data. But Google didn't understand that the network and the users came first before you get the data.

As for hangouts I have not personally used them (I know seriously how can that be true right?) but from what I have seen they are amazing. But if Facebook were to make a similar product (we all know they have to be working on it) the user base difference will make the Facebook version win (unless it sucks, I don't have faith it won't suck).

G+ can't win simply because G+ wasn't designed to win. It was (poorly) designed to capture social data IMO. And I think perhaps to scare Facebook into doing what Google wants and that is link up Facebook to Google accounts and share the data. Just think how amazing Google could make search (their bread and butter thanks to adwords) with that kind of personalized data. And in the end much of what Google does (android anyone?) is to keep their dominance in search.

Google's moves must always be viewed through the veil of search. They beta a lot of products and can a lot of them when they can get away with it once they can't be made to help search. For example here are currently active products that are free (free means more users) and how they relate to search.

Gmail: I'm sure you have noticed the ads seem to tie in a little too well to the emails. All that email data is massive. Plus they get not only info on gmail users but anyone who sends to gmail users. Personally I love gmail but accept that there is no real privacy there.

Docs: Look at gmail and what I said.

Calendar: Holy crap more personal data

Android: We couldn't trust Apple to keep google search so let's try to undercut them by giving our iOS Clone away free. Oh yeah more personal data. Mobile rocks and we totally don't warn when programs want access to you personal files. Who do you think we are? Apple?

Youtube: Number 2 search in the world. Video compared to total time spent on the net was increasing when they bought it. So yeah data again.

And this keeps going on and on. And when the product doesn't work to help search they kill it. Google Reader anyone?

And damn that turned into a long and kind of rambling post lol