Signs have been increasing that perhaps Google is no longer all in on Google+.
Just a few days ago there was the shift in Google Hangout no longer requiring Google Apps users to have a Google+ account. Now comes the rumor that photos will be usable without a Google+ account.
My personal preference would be for Google+ integration to be an option, instead of a requirement, on all Google services.
2 replies on “Casting Out Google+?”
If that’s true (and I believe there is some truth to it), I’m astonished by Google’s repeated failure at social… I’m also very surprised by the lack of vision. To this day, G+ is merely a copycat of what other social networks are (Facebook or Twitter)… rather than something new.
Finally, I have a thought for all this product that were killed by G+’s requirements in terms of development effort and growth relays: Gchat or Reader come to mind.
I’m not sure what to make of Google+ as a product. I created a few circles, added a few people to them, but never really used it much. One thing that did happen is I stopped used Picasa because the merge with Google+ made it too confusing to tell what was going to happen with my photos.