Google Rebuttal - Chris Messina's Perspective.
*What if....* Google+ is not a social network at all - never intended to be a Facebook killer, nor a Twitter wanna-be and definitely not in a rush to keep up with everything else out there...? *What if....* Google+ is Google's way of analyzing our personal relationships across all their products (because relationships can't be faked) and use that knowledge to fuel services like Google Now, Nest, Home automation and Driveless cars...? *"So what the fuck is Google+ for anyway?"* is an ex-Google employee who helped design the UX of Google+ before he left Google a year ago, and whose name came up again on the Plus stream when he shared his *Thoughts on Google+* asking [quote] "So what the fuck is Google+ for anyway?" and got the community talking. *SO LET'S -TALK- HANGOUT ABOUT IT.* Chris is very disappointed with Google+ because he expects better from Google. But maybe he's expecting the wrong things? rebutted Chris' post and defended Google+ in a Google+ post that was shared 524 time and sparked conversations across the Plus (https://www.gplusgotogal.com/MikeElganRebuttal1) Chris responded - https://www.gplusgotogal.com/ChrisMessinaRebutal And Mike claimed that Chris lost the argument because he didn't answer the main questions: "What site has 1) a better community; 2) better troll control; 3) better photo tools; 4) better integration with a leading wearables platform; 5) better conversations; 6) better monetization; 7) better search?" (https://www.gplusgotogal.com/MikeElganRebuttal2) Basically, comparing Google+ to Facebook again. (_sigh_) *IS CHRIS USING GOOGLE+ WRONG?* Chris, who was an integral part in the development of Google+ for 3.5 years was told by that he was using Google+ wrong. He should have been talking and listening to Top Contributors (which Jaana is one) who have their ears to the ground: _"Which is the direction it's taking? That depends. Also on us, the users. Google listens."_ (You should definitely read the comments on Jaana's post, where she and Chris get into an agreement - https://www.gplusgotogal.com/JaanaNyströmGooglePlus) *IS IT ABOUT THE SHARED INTEREST GRAPH?* Perhaps the best insight is that of who read between Chris' lines and brought up the point of Big Data and information networks: [Google+] "should have been 1000% focused on helping people build a rich information network around the things we care most about - our interest graph - and then to use that interest graph to connect us with *new* people who share those interests with us - our "shared interest graph." And if it's about the interest graph, then who's better than to remind us that that takes time: _ It requires building a bunch of things, integrating them and then waiting to see how people will use them and what the data will show you. This means that we have to wait to see some results (many of which will impact search) and the development of our online identity takes time._ And I agree with - "this perfectly describes how I have used and benefited from Google+." *IS IT ABOUT CYBER IDENTITY?* I think so, and Chris touches on that idea in his article - _"companies want your data "to establish a competitive advantage in delivering more personalized services to me and people like me."_ But rather than having only Google have access to this data, Chris is talking about a *data-positive* perspective - Chris wants Google+ to be the place people go to "to understand the data that Google holds about them, or where they go to adjust their preferences, or to adjust how people see and find them online." *DOES GOOGLE+ NEED TO BE FOR EVERYONE?* And so many other questions will be discussed in this hangout, and *I want to read your comments* - what is Google+ for you?
*What if....* Google+ is not a social network at all - never intended to be a Facebook killer, nor a Twitter wanna-be and definitely not in a rush to keep up with everything else out there...? *What if....* Google+ is Google's way of analyzing our personal relationships across all their products (because relationships can't be faked) and use that knowledge to fuel services like Google Now, Nest, Home automation and Driveless cars...? *"So what the fuck is Google+ for anyway?"* is an ex-Google employee who helped design the UX of Google+ before he left Google a year ago, and whose name came up again on the Plus stream when he shared his *Thoughts on Google+* asking [quote] "So what the fuck is Google+ for anyway?" and got the community talking. *SO LET'S -TALK- HANGOUT ABOUT IT.* Chris is very disappointed with Google+ because he expects better from Google. But maybe he's expecting the wrong things? rebutted Chris' post and defended Google+ in a Google+ post that was shared 524 time and sparked conversations across the Plus (https://www.gplusgotogal.com/MikeElganRebuttal1) Chris responded - https://www.gplusgotogal.com/ChrisMessinaRebutal And Mike claimed that Chris lost the argument because he didn't answer the main questions: "What site has 1) a better community; 2) better troll control; 3) better photo tools; 4) better integration with a leading wearables platform; 5) better conversations; 6) better monetization; 7) better search?" (https://www.gplusgotogal.com/MikeElganRebuttal2) Basically, comparing Google+ to Facebook again. (_sigh_) *IS CHRIS USING GOOGLE+ WRONG?* Chris, who was an integral part in the development of Google+ for 3.5 years was told by that he was using Google+ wrong. He should have been talking and listening to Top Contributors (which Jaana is one) who have their ears to the ground: _"Which is the direction it's taking? That depends. Also on us, the users. Google listens."_ (You should definitely read the comments on Jaana's post, where she and Chris get into an agreement - https://www.gplusgotogal.com/JaanaNyströmGooglePlus) *IS IT ABOUT THE SHARED INTEREST GRAPH?* Perhaps the best insight is that of who read between Chris' lines and brought up the point of Big Data and information networks: [Google+] "should have been 1000% focused on helping people build a rich information network around the things we care most about - our interest graph - and then to use that interest graph to connect us with *new* people who share those interests with us - our "shared interest graph." And if it's about the interest graph, then who's better than to remind us that that takes time: _ It requires building a bunch of things, integrating them and then waiting to see how people will use them and what the data will show you. This means that we have to wait to see some results (many of which will impact search) and the development of our online identity takes time._ And I agree with - "this perfectly describes how I have used and benefited from Google+." *IS IT ABOUT CYBER IDENTITY?* I think so, and Chris touches on that idea in his article - _"companies want your data "to establish a competitive advantage in delivering more personalized services to me and people like me."_ But rather than having only Google have access to this data, Chris is talking about a *data-positive* perspective - Chris wants Google+ to be the place people go to "to understand the data that Google holds about them, or where they go to adjust their preferences, or to adjust how people see and find them online." *DOES GOOGLE+ NEED TO BE FOR EVERYONE?* And so many other questions will be discussed in this hangout, and *I want to read your comments* - what is Google+ for you?