Google+ Comes Up Short

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Google+ Comes Up Short
http://feeds.harvardbusiness.org/~r/harvardbusiness/~3/wViXYtby3Uo/google_comes_up_short.html

A not-so flattering review of G+.

Comments

David Blanar said…
I stopped after the second paragraph. Any story which refers to Buzz as "ill-fated" reveals the author to be ignorant and incompetent to comment on any social media service.
July 7, 2011 at 4:08 PM
Jeff Creed said…
I stopped reading after, well, actually I didn't even get to the first sentence. I was stopped by an ad that managed to get around my ad-block plus and take up the whole screen. If you're trying that hard to make me see a product, then you don't want me to read your content. So I didn't.
July 7, 2011 at 4:14 PM
Adam Posey said…
Buzz was rather ill-fated and ill executed. Personally I disagree with him but the article was well written. I wrote a post that I feel counters his notion on my tumblr. You can check it out here if you care to: http://113slowly.tumblr.com/post/7321593406/googlepluspeople
July 7, 2011 at 4:15 PM
David Blanar said…
Have you actually used Buzz Adam Posey ? I'm guessing not (as you repeated the term 'ill-fated').
July 7, 2011 at 4:18 PM
Adam Posey said…
David Blanar Yes, I've used it. Rather extensively in fact. I could give you a detailed account of the ways in which it was doomed if you'd like. You seem rather attached to the product. I'm not out to insult you but Buzz was to Google as MobileMe was to Apple. As Steve Jobs said: "not our finest moment." I can imagine Larry Page uttering those same words in the near future when Buzz is shut down.
July 7, 2011 at 4:21 PM
Rob Gordon said…
Clueless - another "Buzz failed" parrot. This service may have a new name, but anyone should be able to see it as an evolution of Buzz.
July 7, 2011 at 4:25 PM
Kim Landwehr said…
I am sorry but when Twitter first started no one new what problem it solved, that came later. Saying something has comes up short after a week live with small user demographic, seems a little premature.
July 7, 2011 at 4:26 PM
Michelle Marie said…
Wow! Where to begin? First off, this guy only has 4 people in his Circles and only posted twice. Seven people are following him. Secondly, he talks about having spent some time doing his Google Profile as if he just set it up, I doubt that since he's been streaming his Twitter and blog posts on Buzz for quite some time now. And lastly Google DID come up with something new! Hangouts!!!

I bet my panties that Facebook paid this guy to write a bad review of +.
July 7, 2011 at 4:26 PM
David Blanar said…
I can imagine what kind of interaction you had with it, Adam Posey . It's basically your Twitter stream. Shame. I'm only attached to the product as much as it is useful. Actually, I'm a FriendFeed migrant ... there's lots that FF did (and still does) right. Nevertheless, my suspicion is your account of the ways Buzz was 'doomed' will likely be coloured by your experience with it which - I can tell by your engagement - was half-hearted at best.

By the by, I know a few people here who will chuckle endlessly at your comparison of a Google product to MobileMe ... hahahaha ... and I'm an Apple chappie ...
July 7, 2011 at 4:27 PM
Adam Posey said…
I think you're confusing "buzz failed" with "buzz was a bad idea." Buzz was a great idea. It did fail. It flopped horrendously. It takes WORK to make people angry that your product has been released—google pulled that off. There was some great technology in google buzz and I'm happy to see some of those concepts returning because they were GOOD IDEAS. But good ideas and good concepts are, in the end, worth nothing if your product doesn't make people happy. Google Buzz did the opposite.
July 7, 2011 at 4:28 PM
Michelle Marie said…
Here's this guys profile, you should leave your comments there for him to read: https://plus.google.com/117052050540788392292/posts
July 7, 2011 at 4:32 PM
Adam Posey said…
David Blanar Also I'm sure you and your friends are quite likely to disagree with me. That's fine. There's seriously no need to be hostile or superior with me here. I'm having a back and forth with you and you're doing your best to be difficult. That's bad form.
July 7, 2011 at 4:34 PM
Adam Posey said…
Re: the original article perhaps we should add him to our circles. I think his participation with the service was half hearted at best.
July 7, 2011 at 4:37 PM
Rob Gordon said…
@Adam Posey - I made friends I believe I will have for life on Google Buzz dude. Because you failed at using Buzz doesn't mean the rest of is did.
July 7, 2011 at 4:39 PM
Michelle Marie said…
One mans trash is another mans treasure! Buzz was NOT a failure for me neither :)
July 7, 2011 at 4:42 PM
Adam Posey said…
Rob Gordon I'm not trying to undercut the quality of your experience. I completely believe you did that. But your friendship with those people cannot possibly be reliant on the existence of Google Buzz, can it? Of course not, it's a product. Google Buzz floundered. I was quite excited by it when it launched, but the real users were not. It confused and angered people. It published users private information in a way that could be quite embarrassing. That's the very definition of a failed launch. In order to placate people Google basically removed all reminders that it existed and hid it away in the interface. The product is languishing.
July 7, 2011 at 4:45 PM
Jason ON said…
What I thought the author, Joshua Gans, failed to take into account was how Facebook started small and found it's footing; Twitter started quietly and it took years before anyone knew what it was. Everyone seems to think the next great shiney social media outlet needs to come out swinging and be a "Facebook killer."

Let's look at another Google product: Android. Huge media buildup and then people ignored it citing the G1 was no iPhone killer. Now, a couple of years later the Android system is more widespread than iOS.

Remember, it's the turtle that eventually defeats the hare, not the other way around.
July 7, 2011 at 5:05 PM
Rob Gordon said…
Yes, as a matter of fact Adam, it was reliant on the existence of Google Buzz - I never knew any of them before that product was launched. There I met people who had my back, who supported me when I was down, and once even sent me a bit of money when I was broke. You seem to have quite a bit of certitude for a young guy - it will take you years to understand how little you know.
July 7, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Adam Posey said…
I used the present tense, you used the past tense. "Was" reliant on Google Buzz. I certainly hope that's not still the case. Re: my age, that's a really distasteful debating tactic and you know it. So far the way this debate has broken down has been that I cite the massive backlash and subsequent reaction by Google (crippling Google Buzz's adoption) as proof that the product failed at a massive scale. The response has been: "It matters to me! I love it! It didn't fail." Well, you know what? Some of us loved Myspace and met fantastic people on there, but it is still a failed service. I am perfectly happy with MobileMe—it is still a failure of a product. The existence of people loving or having good memories of a product or service does not define its success or failure in any real terms. Side note: A guy I met on IRC helped me pay off my credit cards—I barely use IRC anymore but I certainly still talk to him. Your friendships will survive Google buzz's eventual shut down or fold-in.
July 7, 2011 at 5:14 PM
Joshua Gans said…
Michelle Marie I'm not paid by Facebook.
July 7, 2011 at 5:22 PM
Jason ON said…
I was going to post a link to another of Joshua Gans' posts and my comment, but he came over here. Hi, Josh! Thanks for getting into the conversation. :D
July 7, 2011 at 5:30 PM
Rob Gordon said…
@Joshua Surely you can do better than that. It was pointed out on another thread that a student could never have gotten away with such a sloppy analysis - unless the standards really have lowered since I was in school. I suggest you spend a little more time here before you jump to conclusions.
July 7, 2011 at 5:36 PM
Joshua Gans said…
Jason ON So I had not just been peaking in and out of +. It is not what I do. And I was well aware no one was here to entertain me. But I had to think about how to describe to others why they should switch attention. That is a hard sell.

But these last few hours have given me a peek in to something that no one has been talking about: Google+ is pretty interesting for real conversations. To be sure, these conversations often take place in forums and on individual blogs. Sometimes they break out on Facebook. But here people are talking and the reason I am too is that it is technically easy to do. No recaptcha, easy tracking.

It also doesn't require much structure. I saw you post somewhere else because Google put it in the notifications. You saw me as well. I could have posted this entry anywhere and it would be part of the conversation.

Anyhow, I'm pretty sure I am not going to hear the end of this any time soon. I've been wrong before. When I got on Google Wave the first time I think I tweeted that "Facebook was dead." Oh well.
July 7, 2011 at 5:38 PM
Adam Posey said…
Joshua Gans I think you provided valuable realism to the conversation about Google+. You asked tough questions and made some good points. Where we disagree is your implicit conclusion and with your tone. Hang out, get to know some folks, add some peeps in circles and enjoy the service. I admire your candor in dealing with everyone.
July 7, 2011 at 5:40 PM
Joshua Gans said…
Well Rob Gordon it is a blog post and while I know that many here could not bring themselves to read past "ill fated" I actually linked to those who saw Google+ as something revolutionary. But my job is to ask questions and in all the discussion here no one has really answered "what problem does Google+ solve for consumers?" I'll grant that there are people who like it. But what is it that is working then?
July 7, 2011 at 5:41 PM
Joshua Gans said…
FYI there appear to be hundreds of people in my circles. I just don't show that publicly.
July 7, 2011 at 5:46 PM
Yay Happens said…
I dont know what they are expecting after first launch. The chats aren't booming with a bazillion people and a bunch of crap. Of course having a small intimate population is going to look different than what we are accustomed to seeing on a seeded and established site like FB...
July 7, 2011 at 11:16 PM
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