1. Social Networks are More about Sociology and Psychology than Technology
The idea of putting people into circles is great on paper. It allows for complete control of privacy. However, Facebook had to change their entire friend request system because people were panicking about friend rejections. They changed the response to a friend request from a “yes” or “no” to a “yes” or “not now”. It seems silly, I know, but it’s real. Lumping someone into a “acquaintance” or some other category will cause people this same angst. What if someone fits into multiple circles? I know that you can place someone in as many circles as you want, but the idea of categorizing all of your friends frightens some people.
2. Monetization is essential, even if you’re Google.
We all understand that monetization is going to happen. Google advertising tactics have literally revolutionized the advertising world. I assume that advertising on Google+ is going to be much like that on Gmail or the searches. However, they need to realize that people expect that and a bad advertising layout will drive people away and from the look of it I cannot for the life of me figure out where they are going to go. On the right hand side? Maybe? I don’t know. Just don’t get us used to no advertisements and then spring them all over the site.
3. Remember, it’s a Social Network, not a Google+ Forum.
Maybe it’s just my feed or maybe it’s because the first people that you let on were all techies, but all that anyone ever talks about on Google+ is Google+. It’s becoming a technology forum. It’s going to continue as you release new features that fully integrate Google with Plus. We all know that Google Calendar and Maps and every single Google side project will become integrated. You’re trying to centralize the Internet experience. This will keep perpetuating itself as more invites get shared and people relearn the ins and outs of the site. However, people will become bored with all of the talk about Google. I know I am. If you’re trying to keep people talking about Plus you will turn off a lot of users.
