Dear Google+, It’s not you it’s me.

20 Replies

I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this for weeks but I’ve held out hope things would get better. We can’t keep going like this… I can’t keep making excuses.

dear-johnI don’t have space for you right now.

Yes you’re beautiful and wonderful and your future is filled with promise but now just isn’t a good time for me.

Cheer up! You are going to have lots of new friends and Klout loves you so it really isn’t a big deal that I deleted you my iPhone today.

You are more amazing than I hoped but the fact is:

  • A) Everyone is on Facebook
  • B) Twitter offers me mobility and simplicity.

I don’t have the time or energy to manage another set of lists, replies, notifications, and connections. I’m maxed out. I’m sorry.

You’re going to be amazing and I’ll probably be crawling back to you in coming years but I just need some time. Ok?

Am I Alone?

  1. Are you still active on Google+?
  2. Have you reduced your activity elsewhere to make room for it?

I love competition and Google+ will continue to be a game changer but for this early adopter and social median I’m bowing out… for now.

(Dan Reimond hit his own “Enough is Enough” wall and went so far as to call Google+ a “ghost town”. )

  • http://twitter.com/erniebufflo Sarah

    The choice of picture cracked me up. Like you, I can’t figure out what Google+ is for that Facebook and Twitter don’t already offer. Mostly, it was my Twitter friends that found their way over to Google+, and I didn’t see Google+ as better enough to make me leave Twitter, let alone devote time to that I could be spending reading blogs in Google Reader and interacting on Twitter.

  • Anonymous

    I am still on G+ and looking forward to trying Hang out with Extras(watch out Goto Meeting)

    I don’t use Facebook much and have slowed down on Twitter. I will keep playing with G+ and let you know how it goes

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=674236294 Christie Morgan Ison

    This articulates what I was thinking perfectly. If this had come out first, it would have ruled the world. But, it didn’t. FB and Twitter it is, for now.

  • http://twitter.com/mikehollihan Michael Roy Hollihan

    I signed up for G+ as soon as it arrived, mostly to claim the namespace. Everyone that I’d want to connect with is already using Facebook as their primary communications tool and they aren’t migrating. I’m afraid G+ was just a little late with a great idea.

  • http://twitter.com/ghidotti Natalie Ghidotti

    Amen. If I had more hours in the day, maybe. But, alas, I don’t have enough as it is. Facebook and Twitter are where my peers, clients (current and potential), friends and family are. Google+ really is a ghost town in my world.

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    I almost feel guilty by not giving it time but I have to prioritize and simplify. I do good to keep up as it is. Thanks for stopping by @twitter-15894329:disqus

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    Exactly. Those I know are on Facebook and most of the people I want to know are on Twitter. I think G+ will prove its usefulness in the future and the competition will ultimately serve us very well.

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    I rarely articulate anything well so thank you. I’m qualifying everything as “for now” but “for now” I’m out. Thanks for reading @arfoodie:twitter 

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    Thanks Brant. I think G+ is the perfect alternative to people who aren’t into Facebook. If I weren’t I’d be active in G+ and Twitter. I think cases like you mentioned are the exact reason they will be around for a long time and I’m sure I’ll be back. Talk to me in a year.

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    I’m trying to find the time to become a regular blogger and reader again and something has to give. G+ isn’t the only casualty but had to make some choices.

    Glad you liked the picture and I really appreciate you stopping by @erniebufflo:twitter

  • S0c14lm3d14

    This. Although Facebook is trying hard to get on my bad side with their newest change.

  • Anonymous

    I’ve all but abandoned facebook. Even before g+ came along, I rarely used it, except to occasionally contact family that I don’t have email addresses for.
    I’ve found a few of my twitter friends on g+, but get more value from the people I’ve found there that I don’t follow on twitter.
    G+ isn’t facebook, or twitter. For me, it serves a different purpose.
    Twitter is great for quick updates, but it’s difficult to have any substantive discussion there…if more than one other person is involved you lose the thread of the conversation quickly.
    I’d not even attempt to have any kind of conversation on someone’s facebook page, it just doesn’t seem suited.
    G+ has addressed every problem I’ve had with facebook. 
    If I need to clear a post from my feed, but not ignore the user for all time, “mute” the post. (I have teenage nieces, this happens a lot on fb)
    Their list management is far better, as I tend to try to sort everyone I follow.
    There is a real sense of community on G+ that I’ve not seen on facebook. Google’s community managers across all their products are active, approachable and responsive.
    Facebook’s early adopters were all teenagers, in college. That set the tone for facebook, high school kinds wanted in b/c their friends were in, advertisers wanted in b/c gratuitous consumers were in.
    G+’s early adopters,were for the most part, not that. It’s set a different tone.
    Rather than “Social Media Experts” trying to tell you how to “leverage facebook”, you have people sharing tips just trying to be helpful.
    I get your reasons, you ahve to go where you get the most value.
    For me, that’s G+. Facebook can suck it.

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    I think everything you said is probably accurate but I’d say – Facebook has vastly improved lists in the past week, Facebook community managers all have subscribe turned on now, and the muting of posts/users/sources is vastly improved. I think Facebook is incorporating what people do (would) like about G+ very quickly.

    I think the community aspect is enabled by G+ but deeply connected to being an early crowd. Friendfeed was similar in the early days.

    I’ll absolutely concede G+ has the best platform for long form discussion of the 3. That alone isn’t enough for me to be active at the moment.

    Sometimes Facebook drives me nuts but it’s gotten better and until that population is active somewhere else its where I’ll connect with the people I already know.

    Thanks for the insight @mrjawright:twitter Didn’t seem rant-y to me :)

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    Don’t use it and haven’t logged in for months.

  • http://twitter.com/williamsbk Benjamin Williams

    Testing for Disqus, please delete.

  • fjpoblam

    Pluzz one, as the phrase goes. I even joined diaspora. (Left FB some years ago.) I find I don’t post often on diaspora. And no more on identi.ca. Like you, I tend to favor Twitter. Simplicity. Mobility. Efficiency.

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    I just created a profile on Diaspora but mostly for testing purposes. We’ll see if an open source socnet can get traction.

  • http://sproutsocial.com Brittany at Sprout Social

    I’m going to have to agree with you… I think it has tons of potential, but just isn’t there yet (for my circles at least). I check Google+ probably weekly to see if there’s anything new – but definitely not abandoning Facebook or Twitter quite yet!

  • http://twitter.com/mesmiratron Aditya Ramachandran

    My Google+ theme is tumbleweeds. Seriously though, do you think Google+ pitched itself to the wrong audience (We’re Facebook from Google)?

    There are two powerful features I really like:
    1. circles and using them to group people based on your relationship with them (and filter them as such)
    2. ability to follow people without being followed (or for people who are “famous” the other way) just like twitter.

    There’s a lot of talk such as from @scobleizer for example that, with these features, Google+ can dominate the interest graph it wants to.

  • http://KnowtheNetwork.com Keith

    Concerning the audience: I just don’t think its time. As we see activity and friends move over some of us will as well.

    I really like circles as well but Facebook has responded well with their smart circles. I also like asynchronous networks and I think they encourage activity.

    The killer app will be that it is integrated into everything. It will be omnipresent as we travel the web. Facebook is hoping we don’t ever visit the real internet and Google is trying to travel with us.

    -Thanks for the great comment. I really appreciate it.