Since June 28, 2011 Google+, which is also known as Google Plus or even G+ in some cases has performed better than we had thought, although not as much as the search engine giant had hoped. The reason for this is because they expected to be at around 30 million users by now, but have only just broke the 25 million barrier. Currently they are limiting their growth because you have to wait for an invite, which we offered readers sometime ago. Now anticipation for the Google+ public release launch date is starting to grow, as we still have no idea when it will be.
There are signs that Google+ will come out of semi-closed beta and will go public, but there is a fear that this could be delayed. Google is known for keeping some of their projects in beta for months, if not years, so could Google+ be the same? Business Insider had assumed that the new social network would go public on July 31, 2011, but that date has come and gone. There are no other indications that it will happen soon, but we will keep you informed.
When you visit the Google+ page it is a little misleading, as it asks you to sign into your Google account to start using the new service. We then tried this with a different account that has not been signed up and you get the message that it is still limited, but you can register your interest. We think that they should reword things a little as to not confuse anyone.
If Google hopes to reach their target of 100 million users in three months, then they need to take their Plus service out of beta, as it will just limit its growth. Going by the figures so far they will fall short of about 25 million, which is way off target. However, it could even be less, as the excitement phase has now worn off, as people find it a chore to keep inviting friends etc.
Maybe Google+ will be released to the public when they have the service ready for business users, as we know that they have been asked to hold off for now? Some companies such as Mashable have been asked to trail the business version for them, but we do not have any results how this is going for them. One thing we do know, if Google has any hope of catching up to Facebook, then they are going to need to bring their Buzz replacement to the public soon. It is a shame because they have something with great potential, but not everyone is able to utilize it.
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