Paula Writes

The Google Plus social media network closes on 2 April 2019. My brief March 2019 post will be my last on the subject.

 

Yes, apparently – Google Plus, Google’s social media network, is being closed down, or closed down for consumer users.

It was announced this week, with security issues with the network being one of the most significant reasons.

It’s ironic that I’ve only recently discovered the power of Google Plus Communities. I actually set up two new Communities of my own.

I’ve heard that Google sometimes do announce “closures” of this nature, when in reality, they don’t occur.

For instance, Blogger should supposedly have finished by now, but hasn’t so far. So, maybe there is hope for Google Plus? Or perhaps that is just wishful thinking.

I’ve always regarded Google Plus as an underrated social media platform.

Compared to its main competitor, Facebook, Google Plus has many advantages.

Facebook has limited reach on business/”fan” pages, to the extent that it’s hardly worth bothering any more, outside of paid advertising.

Facebook groups aren’t doing much better, unless they’re large and established, and you’re able to devote a great deal of time to them.

To me, Google Plus should have been a viable alternative to Facebook, but never really was.

In some respects, being a very visual platform, it should also have been competing more than it ever did with Instagram and Flickr.

 

I’m still posting on Google Plus, and will probably continue until I’m physically prevented.

RIP Google Plus? Quite possibly, but not yet.

 

See my post Social Media for Writers 2019.

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