Why Have People Stopped Posting on Google+?

By  |  Monday, September 19, 2011 at 6:51 am

So young, so promising. It was in its prime, and stood to reap the rewards of all of Facebook’s flaws—and in a weird twist, made Facebook copy Google+ for some of its newest “changes.”

But the fact of the matter is, public posts on Google+ have decreased 41 percent since the social networking service launched a few months ago. Even Larry Page, you know – Google’s CEO – last updated one month ago. And I thought something was wrong with me when I forced myself to post something on Google+ so my friends didn’t think I’d virtually disappeared.

So what’s going on, folks? Are we hopping off of the Google+ train, and calling it quits? Or is Larry Page having a secret company hangout with Sergey Brin that we’re not invited to, doing CEO-like secret stuff? A Google spokesman didn’t have much to say for Page’s recent lack of activity but did note that “…people are two to three times more likely to share content with one of their circles than to make a public post,” reports TechCrunch.

It could just be that the initial velvet-roped entrance was maybe too private, or people got past it and just realized the only people “hanging out” there were actually a bunch of geeky bloggers (like moi). Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t mind salivating over my neighbor’s cousin’s sun-kissed Fiji vacation on Facebook either.

But the question remains: Can Google+ appeal to the masses? Or will it be the service that ultimately made Facebook better, but is slowly fading into the abyss of the Internet? And more importantly, will anyone hang out with me? It’s getting a little lonely in here.

(This post republished from Techland.)

 
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21 Comments For This Post

  1. Rob Says:

    I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of companies and the circles. The default is set for friends, not public, so guess where most of those posts are going to go. Additionally, with companies not allowed on the bandwagon, a lot of those posts don't exist. Google needs to do something to improve Plus before it becomes the next wave (pun intended.)

  2. Alvin B. Says:

    Honestly? There's just as much if not more activity in my circles than there was in July. What's GONE are the people who came on, made two posts, and then left because their sister/brother/cousin/grandma wasn't already a member. Those people made a LOT of posts quickly, but ultimately didn't stay. In the long term, however, they're not the important ones. There will be a turnaround where posting activity goes back up. It won't be a rush, but it will be there. I say this because those who ARE on the service to stay aren't going anywhere, and it is building a strong foundation. Just because some of those who came in the initial rush didn't stay is no reason to sign a death certificate.

  3. wirehunt Says:

    So people aren't posting to public so much. That doesn't mean their not posting at all though. Heaps of activity there. Like HEAPS!!

  4. Omar O'Hara Says:

    Yeah, these stats completely ignore the fact that "circle" posts were a selling point. It's like saying the number of people who use their smart-phones for calls has dropped, ignoring the fact that people buy smart-phones for a myriad of reason and often place data calls. I can't say that I'm surprised. It has been public knowledge that Facebook has been conducting a misinformation campaign since Google+ launched its Beta.

  5. The_Heraclitus Says:

    So, I wonder what the TOTAL posting stats are?

  6. Privat Bruger Says:

    Need more users and, sadly, also commercial participation.

  7. Teknisyan Says:

    Facebook got the advantage of copying G+ features and make it look like it's their original, since majority of Facebook users are not even aware what Google + is.

  8. Hamranhansenhansen Says:

    That is the downside of Google being a ripoff artist.

  9. The_Heraclitus Says:

    There is only so much time people have for posting on social apps. What is the advantage for the VAST majority of FB users to switch?

    Therein lies the unanswered marketing question…

  10. @CorinneL Says:

    Between figuring out Google+ and all these new freakin' changes on Facebook I am worn out by both platforms. Twitter is much easier for my social media-addled brain to handle.

  11. Donna Svei aka AvidCareerist Says:

    IMHO Google needs to open the API for services such as BufferApp, Hootsuite, and TweetDeck. They need to be "virtual" in time as well as cyberspace.

  12. ecco6t9 Says:

    I used it once, it felt too little too late. Had Google + launched 2 years ago Facebook would of been another MySpace.

    Point is did we really need another social site? It seems like "they" wanted us to go from MySpace to Facebook to Google +. Myself, I do not have the time nor the patience to set up another page.

  13. Jasnzl Says:

    Hard to keep the momentum of a gated community going when everyone else is outside the fences.

    Months later, still invite only. Pass thanks.

  14. Hamranhansenhansen Says:

    Actually, I believe all you had to do to get in was have a Google account.

  15. Pekka Says:

    I’ve received a fair share of invites, mostly from people geekier (more bleeding edge-prone) than me. I’ve seen that their FB -activity is going down, so I assume that they’ve morealess switched.
    Still, I am outside, and will remain so until:
    -adopting google (crappy moniker, BTW) does not result in duplication
    -someone makes a compelling case for it. Google has so much trusted social network magnetism, that they do not even bother to convince you.

  16. Stilgar Says:

    Just follow Scoble, he posts about 1,000 times a day. I'm not sure how he can post so much and still have a job (at Rackspace) quite frankly.

  17. Hamranhansenhansen Says:

    I think that is his job at Rackspace. To be a social hub.

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  21. Steve Says:

    My first public post displayed on my computer for about 15 seconds, then completely disappeared! Looking for answers to what I did wrong I found that people were having this problem years ago and it still isn't fixed. So guess what? I haven't posted publicly since.