It’s finally happened. The separation of Google+ from Google’s other more popular services is underway. Yesterday the company published a blog post announcing that sometime over the next few months, “a Google account is all you’ll need to share content, communicate with contacts, create a YouTube channel and more, all across Google.”
The welcome decision comes a few months after another popular move at Google, the ceasing of forcing new users to create accounts under its social network every time they create a Google account. Google+ itself has never managed to live up to its expectations, or rather the far fetched hope, of being a social media platform on the same level as Facebook or Twitter. Google’s new take on not force feeding users Google+ has been in the work for some time now, nearly a year ago it was announced that Google was transforming Google+ photos into its own service. And more than a year ago, in April, Google+ boss Vic Gundotra either left or was fired, amid dying enthusiasm from Google.
The strategy of splitting Google+ Photos into its own product is one that Google aims at continuing. “We’re well underway putting location sharing into Hangouts and other apps, where it really belongs. We think changes like these will lead to a more focused, more useful, more engaging Google+.” A diplomatic way of saying they’re doing their best to get everyone off the sinking ship.
“Your underlying Google Account won’t be searchable or followable, unlike public Google+ profiles,” Google’s VP of Streams, Photo and sharing, Bradley Horowitz says in the blog post. “And for people who already created Google+ profiles but don’t plan to use Google+ itself, we’ll offer better options for managing and removing those public profiles.” I think many of us with multiple Google+ accounts are poised with our cursors over the delete button.
But not so fast!
The ability to create a YouTube channel, upload videos, or comment without a Google+ is still months off, the company says — and it’s warning users not to remove their Google+ profiles before that day comes, since doing so will also eradicate your whole YouTube presence. “Do not do it now or you’ll delete your YouTube channel.”
But hey, what’s a few months of having an account on a social media site none of us use?
What do you think of Google’s decision to split its more popular services from Google+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
