Around the Net
Google+ Has Engagement Problem
- The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, February 28, 2012 12:08 PM
Citing new comScore data, The Wall Street Journal calls Google+ “a virtual ghost town” compared with Facebook. Sure, consumers are signing up for Google’s social network -- about 90 million since the service launched in June. Yet, they don’t seem to be a very active community. “Visitors using personal computers spent an average of about three minutes a month on Google+ between last September and January, versus six to seven hours on Facebook each month over the same period,” reports WSJ, citing comScore.
What explains Google’s engagement problem? For one, its inability to differentiate Google+ from Facebook. Despite a few original features, like “Hangouts” and “Circles,” consumer don’t seem motivated enough to make a coordinated switch with the friends and family they already interact with on Facebook.
"Nobody wants another social network right now," Brian Solis, an analyst at social-media advisory firm Altimeter Group, tells WSJ. For those who already use Facebook, "Google hasn't communicated what the value of Google+ is," he said.
