What is google plus?

Google+ (pronounced Google Plus) was a social network owned and operated by Google. Launched in June 2011, it was intended to be a more personal and integrated social platform compared to other offerings at the time.

• Concept & Goals: Google+ aimed to integrate Google's existing online services, such as Gmail, YouTube, and Google Search, with a social layer. Its core concept revolved around "Circles," allowing users to organize contacts into different groups and share information selectively. This addressed privacy concerns by giving users greater control over who saw their posts. (https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/Circles)

• Key Features: Besides Circles, Google+ included features such as:

  • Streams: A news feed displaying updates from people and communities users followed.
  • Hangouts: Video conferencing and messaging service, which became a standalone product later on. (https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/Hangouts)
  • Google+ Pages: Dedicated profiles for businesses, brands, and organizations.
  • Communities: Groups where users could connect and share interests.

• Integration with Google Services: Google+ was deeply intertwined with other Google products. For example, commenting on YouTube videos initially required a Google+ account. The platform also influenced Google search results, with personalized results sometimes based on Google+ connections.

• Decline and Shutdown: Despite initial hype and forced integration, Google+ failed to gain widespread adoption and struggled to compete with established social networks like Facebook and Twitter. In October 2018, Google announced that Google+ would be shut down for consumers due to low usage and https://www.wikiwhat.page/kavramlar/data%20security issues. The consumer version of Google+ was officially shut down in April 2019.

• Google+ for Enterprise: A re-branded version focused on enterprise use, called Google Currents (later renamed to Google Workspace), continued to exist, offering social networking features within organizations.