5 Ways Google+ Could Fall Flat

Google+ is still the darling of the tech world intimately deuce weeks deep into its field test. The sociable network has attracted the likes of Digg Founder Kevin Blush wine, MySpace's Turkey cock Anderson, and even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come away to take a peek.

Google +1 buttons have surpassed Twitter social plug-ins on third-party websites, according to BrightEdge. And the site's membership is estimated to be close to 5 billion users–at least now we have an accurate calculate the number of tech journalists in the world.

But just because Google+ is in the middle of a sexual love fest doesn't mean there aren't potential storm clouds looming in the distance. Now get into't get Maine immoral, I'm using Google+ and til now I like it, but one privacy misstep or product quality mistake could doom Google's new project. Especially if the problems aren't leaded before the network formally goes out of field-test mode. With that in take care, here's a tone at 5 ways Google+ could fall flat.

[Read: Google+ 5 Big Developments ]

Buzz Levels

It's pretty clear that Google+ has borrowed some code from Google Buzz and that's not necessarily a good affair. When Google+ first debuted, it had a really Buzz-like habit of resurfacing posts with a large number of comments back to the top of your Google+ stream. However, this does appear to be improving.

Single offense that hasn't improved much is the way notifications are handled. Whenever someone follows you, you get a notification. Problem is many of these follow notifications resurface by showing up time and time again; they can appear in the notifications incision in the Google navigation bar or at the tip of your Google pelt in a collapsible box. Re-notification was an annoying use in Seethe, and it necessarily to go off in Google+.

Viral Spam

Right now Google+ is a gravid place to chitchat; people are sharing interesting golf links, users have banded together to create a Google+ user point, and the casual exposure shows up just for fun. But that will all end before long when the FarmVilles, Mafia Wars, and the rest of their ilk get in. Google has reportedly been on the job with Zynga–the leader in social gaming–for all but a yr. And third-company developers are banging at the door trying to get in.

IT's only if a matter of clock time before your relatives and old friends from high school sign up and start bombarding you with gaming requests, test offers, and completely sorts of other nonsense. When that day comes, hopefully Google will hand the catch one's breath of us powerful tools to block these unwanted requests.

Privacy Concerns

Will privacy concerns sink Google+? The company is doing its best to avoid any problems after the Buzz radioactive dust where users' contacts were briefly exposed to the public. That episode triggered an FTC investigation that resulted in a liquidation where Google moldiness to submit to privacy audits for the next 20 old age, among other requirements. And critics are protrusive to raise a a couple of red flags about Google's latest social try out.

The biggest item on the critics' lists appears to be concerns about how Google's ad business power fit into Google+, although no one is quite sure what the problem might uprise to be. Some are also criticizing the rights Google militia connected your depicted object finished Google+'s terms of service (a trouble Facebook knows about only too well). But most critics seem to drop single important line when criticizing Google's terms of service: "You keep goin right of first publication and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post, operating theater display along or through, the Services [much as Google+]."

Google's past decision to make all Google Profiles open as of July 31 also may not sit well with privacy critics; notwithstandin, the solely information that has to remain in the public eye is your discover and gender (A Google Profile is a public profile you create on Google.)

Related Slideshow: 10 Google+ Tips for Beginners

Interface Complexness

Right now, Google+ has a cosher simple interface that is mesmerizing and easy to understand. But inevitably Google+ volition get over much complex as it grows and adds young features, third-party services, then on. Are Google's user interface designers upbound to the challenge of maintaining simplicity atomic number 3 the service adds novel features? Let's hope so.

Environ Wear down

Critics are praising Google+'s have that lets you create Circles (essentially friend lists) so that you can easily parcel items with specific groups of citizenry. Facebook has had lists for some time, but the boast was hard to use and never took off.

Thusly far, people appear to like Circles. But can that enthusiasm be sustained every bit more people juncture Google+ and experience to go through the process of manually adding their friends to Circles? If not, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg may turn forbidden to be right when he aforesaid people get into't desire to create lists.

So far Google+ is off to a groovy start, and multitude savour using it. If enthusiasm for Google+ remains strong, the ship's company may get at length patterned prohibited a way to draw social, A long as it avoids a few potential privacy and intersection quality pitfalls.

Connect with Ian Paul ( @ianpaul ) and Now@PCWorld on Twitter for the latest tech news and analysis.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/480915/google_plus_5_ways_it_could_fall_flat.html

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