So after lots and lots of speculation about the future of Google Plus we finally have something solid and concrete to speculate off of. In an interview with BackChannel Bradley Horowitz, Google’s vice president of Photos, Streams, and Sharing, stated that Google Plus isn’t going anywhere. There are some clear and evident changes happening, and going to happen – however the Google Plus product will remain.
Three and a half years into this journey, we’re looking at what the users are telling us Google Plus is good for, and doubling down on those uses. For instance, one particular use-case on Google Plus is people aligning around common interests. If I’m interested in astronomy and I want to meet other people interested in astronomy, we think we have a good solution?—?Collections, a new feature that we launched just two weeks ago. It’s the first in a series of pivots. We’re also moving aside the things that either belong as independent products, like photos, or eliminating things that we think aren’t working.
For those of you who are less-than-satisfied with the above answer – BackChannel did flat out ask whether Google Plus is dead, and got a very direct answer:
No, Google Plus is not dead. In fact, it’s got more signs of life than it’s had in some time.
Apart from this bit of awesome news, the BackChannel interview has some awesome information in it regarding the new Google Photo’s service, and the thought process that’s going on right now behind all of the Google Plus changes. If you’re even remotely curious with what Google is doing, and what Google is planning to do – I urge you to read the interview.
Bradley Horowitz Says That Google Photos is Gmail for Your Images. And That Google Plus Is Not Dead…