3 Things You Need To Know About Google+ And Where It’s Going

In response to all of the buzz around Google+ updates, we’re here to shed some light on what these changes mean for users. Google may not be investing in Google+…but the social networking channel isn’t disappearing any time soon. Check out the three things you need to know.

1. Free from Google+ Shackles: Users no longer need a Google+ account to use other services. That’s right – YouTube is available for everyone again. To those fairly new to Gmail, you may now notice that you didn’t have to setup a Google+ account upon creation of your Gmail. It is no longer required. So why the breakup of services? Apparently the change comes with the expectation of a more focused Google+.

• CAUTION: Wait for Google to make a concrete announcement about Google+ being disconnected from these other apps. If you went ahead and deleted your Google+ profile today, your YouTube channel would be deleted as well.

2. Google+ Photos: It had been announced that Google+ Photos will be replaced by Google Photos, but no need to panic just yet! As it turns out, users will still have access to the Photos tab in Google+, they will be able to share, +1, and comment. On Google Photos, however, users can do much more. The new app will offer them backup, editing, sharing to other apps, etc. So basically, all of the backend work is happening on the new app, and people can add their creations to Google+ if they please.

3. Location sharing: Google+ location sharing services will likely be disappearing from the platform soon. It is rumored that this feature will now become a part of Hangouts.

As you can see, Google+ won’t be ‘dead’, but it will certainly be hollowed out. Google+ was meant to strike fear into the social network king that is Facebook. Unfortunately for Google+, Facebook is more successful than ever.

The Google+ failure is a topic being discussed quite a bit lately. Many say it has to do with the ‘must have Google+’ approach. Users couldn’t enjoy any of the other Google apps without a Google+ account, and it was soon part of the background noise. It’s important to note that the most successful social networks, like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, serve a unique calling. They give users the choice to present a different part of themselves to that community, and people using those sites can cross share if they choose too. Google+ failed because it tried to tie together multiple apps, and presented users under the same profile in every environment. The uniqueness simply wasn’t there….and it wasn’t even an option.

So what do the above updates really mean? It seems like Google+ will still be around for a while, but we can’t help but notice that users may transitioning out. Time will certainly tell.