In a blog post published yesterday, Google announced plans to shut down the consumer version of its social network, Google+, over the next ten months. I’ve been quietly posting to Google+ over the past few years — mostly out of habit, since there is so little activity there. Given Google’s decision, I’ve decided to stop posting there at this point.
I’m saddened to see Google+ go; the network explored many interesting structural ideas during its existence. I also found some Google+ communities to be more thoughtful and useful than those in other social networks. Still, I always got a sense that Google+ wasn’t as diverse a place as Facebook or Twitter; that it never transcended its initial audience of early adopters. I’m not surprised by Google’s decision to discontinue it. (Again, as a consumer offering; Google+ will live on as an enterprise service.)
If you followed me in Google+, the best ways for you to keep up with my posts from now on are:
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By following me on Twitter
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By signing up for my newsletter
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By subscribing to my blog’s RSS feed