It’s an afterthought. After compulsively checking Facebook and Twitter, it occurs to me that it’s been at least a week, maybe more, since I checked Google+.
It’s easy to see why.
“Man, Google+ is really falling apart,” reads one item on my stream.
“Wow, I forgot G+ was here,” reads another. A comment on this update: “The coolest social network none of your friends use!”
Even on Facebook they come. “Can I delete Google+ yet?” one reads.
Although Google+ is a relatively new social media site, it generated buzz and waves before its launch and was hailed as a serious rival to Facebook. And now, the search giant has announced the service will be open to the public.
In the few months of its existence, people have flocked to Google+. In the first month, the site attracted 25 million users, something that took Facebook three years to accomplish. But while college students are joining to explore, few seem to be sticking with the site.
Among Google+’s first joiners was Marty Malone, a junior at the University of Illinois, at Urbana-Champaign and a lover of all things Google. Malone took to his Twitter feed to ask for an invite to the site, which is still in beta testing.
Malone joined, added some friends to his circle and waited. The next day he checked the site but didn’t see many updates. The same things happened the next day. And the next.
Then Malone forgot about it. He hasn’t checked the site in about a month. He’s stuck with Facebook and, according USA TODAY , Google+’s popularity hadn’t put a dent in Facebook’s continued growth.
“I think that Facebook got there first. They’re huge now,” he said. “You don’t get invites to parties on Google+. They call it a social network, but it’s just a network.”
The lack of youth embracing Google+ might pose problems for the website, said Ben Parr, Editor-at-Large of Mashable. After all, social media giant Facebook began with college students.
“The young generations tend to be the early adopters and it’s definitely the case for social media,” Parr said. “They’re willing to go through the pain to break it in because they see the potential. The older generation tends to stick to the things they know and understand. It’s up to the young generation to test out and get the bugs out of systems.”
And even if some youth are embracing Google+, Parr doubts it will ever match up to the high bar Facebook has set.
“Facebook was an early mover and had a perfect storm,” Parr said.
Another issue is Facebook’s ability to adapt to whatever Google+ offers, said Malone. Shortly after the launch of Google+, Facebook introduced a partnership with Skype. Earlier this week, USA TODAY reported that Facebook unveiled a subscribe option enabling users to see updates from people who are not your friends.
“Any ounce of innovation to come out of Twitter and Google Plus, Facebook can just tweak it a little and add it to their site,” Malone said. “They’re too big to fail now.”
Cliff Lampe, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information, said while Google+’s future is still too uncertain to be called, he believes the website has a chance even if the millennial generation is not getting behind it.
“They were trying to go after those who want to keep contacts separate,” Lampe said. “(That’s) not a primary concern for millennials.”
Instead – if Google+ survives – Lampe sees those in their mid-20s and early 30s carrying the site and filling it with “rich information laden posts,” rather than statuses bemoaning piles of homework or declaring love for friends.
For Brian De Los Santos, a senior at California State University in Northrige, Calif., the site already has a more professional feel than Facebook.
While De Los Santos likes using the network’s features such as circles, he’s been lenient to be social through the site.
“I personally don’t use it for personal stuff,” De Los Santos said. “I filter my content more on Google Plus.”
While Google+’s future is uncertain, Parr said one thing that can be expected is the user’s role in shaping the site.
“Social media is about connection with other people and not just the tools,” Parr said. “It’s really about the people on there that make or break a social media service.”
Emily Wilkins is a Fall 2011 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent.
You can http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/usa-today-collegiate-correspondent-emily-wilkins
Source : http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/ccp/google-not-making-waves-with-college-crowd
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