Google+ is like your Great Aunt Ethel

I've got analogy for how I see Google+ these days. It's something most of you will remember from childhood.

In it, you're the kid. Google is your Mom. Google+ is your Great Aunt Ethel.

You're a kid. You want to play with your good friends, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

But your Mom (Google), says you'd better come and visit your Great Aunt Ethel (Google+). Come, she says, you'll have a good time, and she'll buy you a toy and some ice cream. And who knows what trouble you'll get in if you don't come? Mom is *very* attached to you coming on these visits.

And that's pretty much how it is these days. Google is rewarding sites more and more for Google+ activity, and the bribery will continue. But just like kids not really excited about visiting Great Aunt Ethel, I haven't run into anyone lately who is excited about Google+. People come because they feel obligated.

And that is no way to run a "social network".

Sorry, Google. Drop the bribery. Make a reason we actually WANT to visit. Buy Pinterest. Buy & integrate Twitter. In this kid analogy, buy a bouncy castle, or a Playstation 3, or a pool table. Give us something to do instead of just having Great Aunt Ethel pinch our cheeks and tell us how big we've gotten.

Yours,
Peter Hannah
Pragmatic web marketing for therapists