Google should have easily won the social media war. With more money, experience, employees and users than competitors like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Google launched their first social network, Orkut, in January 2004 – just weeks before Facebook went live. Over the years, Google created many attempts to directly take on these social platforms. But they all failed. Most famous was Google+, which is now described as “Google’s biggest ever failure.” So what was the real reason Google+ and Google’s other social plays collapsed?
Google Got an Early Start in Social Media
Many believe Google was late to see social media’s potential. But that’s not the case. Before networks like Friendster, MySpace and Bebo, Google tried to purchase one of the first social sites, Friendster.com. Just one year after Friendster’s launch, Google offered $30 million in stock for the company. However, Friendster’s founder turned it down after advisors said it could be worth billions. Of course, Friendster failed soon after. Rebuffed from buying Friendster, Google built their own social network from scratch: Orkut. Launched in January 2004 by Google engineer Orkut Büyükkökten, Orkut enabled users to connect with old and new friends. It had features like profile creation, status updates, photo sharing and commenting. Orkut even had a small head start on Facebook, launching just before Facebook’s February 2004 debut. But Orkut only found popularity in India and Brazil, especially after a security breach eroded user trust. As sites like Facebook and MySpace grew, Orkut user counts stagnated. Google eventually shut it down in 2014.
Google Launched Many Failed Social Products Before Google+
After Orkut disappointed, Google tried again with Google Friend Connect in 2008. It let website owners add social features through a Google login. But it also failed. So in 2009, Google unveiled Google Wave, combining “email, instant messaging, blogging, wikis and more.” It was complex and never took off. Next came 2010’s Google Buzz, integrated with Gmail to tap into its existing user base. But Buzz had privacy issues, revealing users’ most frequent email contacts as default “friends.” After a lawsuit and more security woes, Google scrapped Buzz as well.
Growing Fears of Facebook Motivated Google+
By 2010, Google grew worried by Facebook’s influence. Facebook consumed more user time online and posed a threat to Google’s ad business. Facebook’s tailored ad targeting, based on data people freely shared about themselves, meant advertisers would pay a premium. Many top Google employees also left for Facebook during this period. So Google CEO Larry Page, returning to Google in 2010 after a stint away, decided to take on Facebook more aggressively. He put executive Vic Gundotra in charge of Google+, giving him massive resources compared to previous social attempts. Partly, Googlers’ yearly bonuses started depending on Google’s social success. They had to beat Facebook.
Google+ Launched to High Hopes in 2011
Google+ officially arrived in 2011, introducing features like:
- Posting status updates and sharing photos
- “Circles” to organize contacts into separate groups for sharing
- “Sparks” to discover and share content based on interests
- Group video chat “Hangouts”
Google+ also highlighted integration with Google’s existing services like search, Gmail and more to unify users’ online identity. Hoping to fuel hype, Google+ at first required invites to join. The exclusivity worked at first, aided by influencers in Silicon Valley who drove early buzz. Ironically, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was one of the first Google+ users. Worried about competition, Zuckerberg ordered Facebook employees to match Google+’s features. Experts predicted Google+ would defeat Facebook. By end of 2011, Google+ had 90 million users. In two years, it peaked above 500 million.
But Google+ User Numbers Were Misleading
Google+’s reported user figures were largely an illusion. Its growth came mainly from forced sign-ups to use other Google products like YouTube, Gmail and more. While integration with services like YouTube was supposed to help Google+, it often backfired. YouTube creators resented needing a Google+ account just to comment on videos. One YouTube co-founder even updated YouTube’s first video description to bash Google+. Scores of people spammed generic comments protesting YouTube’s changes. Beyond YouTube, other services like Gmail and Google Maps also pushed people to join Google+. The reality was less than 10% of profiles were actively used. One report estimated users spent just 3 minutes monthly on Google+ versus 7.5 hours on Facebook.
Google+ Offered Little New Value to Users
Google hoped exclusivity would court users to Google+. But limited access meant people had few contacts to connect with at first. And social networks depend on the network effect, growing more valuable with more users. With friends already established elsewhere, Google+ faced significant inertia. As hype faded, there was little pull to join a ghost town with minimal connections. Those who did try Google+ often found it confusing to navigate. It didn’t help that it lacked distinctive features beyond competitors like Facebook. The “Circles” concept to share with subsets of friends proved confusing and made feeds even emptier. Few wanted to organize contacts just to make sharing work. And Google+’s Sparks feature, requiring manual effort to find and share relevant content, saw little usage compared to passive feeds on other platforms. Overall, Google+ mimicked existing social networks instead of providing unique value.
Early Decisions Set the Stage for Failure
A narrative formed around the web that Google+ was a ghost town. Comedy videos spread criticizing Google+, songs mocked it, and it became fashionable to poke fun at the also-ran platform. This perception burdened Google+ even for those willing to try it. Moreover, controversial launches around requiring real names and forcing integrations with beloved products like YouTube led to lasting resentment towards Google+. By the time changes reversed unpopular policies, damage was done. A major security breach later exposed 50+ million users’ data, resulting in lawsuits. Multiple factors stacked the deck against Google+ succeeding. Still, it represents Google’s largest failed attempt at social media so far. After Google+ shut down in 2018 and 2019, one Google insider revealed engineering teams were disconnected and leadership mangled the project. However, with Google Shoelace in 2019, Google took another shot at social by connecting local communities. But the pandemic thwarted adoption of this lesser-known effort.
Why Google Struggles with Social Networks
It’s puzzling why a company so adept at building helpful products stumbles on community-driven social apps, with the exception of acquired YouTube. Partly, Google’s culture quick to kill unsuccessful projects goes against social networks that require retained users and network effects between versions. There are also philosophical differences. Google likes to give technical users granular controls, as with Google+ Circles. But most people prefer platforms that just work, no manual settings required. Look at TikTok – it learns your interests automatically. Google+ felt like more work, ultimately limiting its reach and retention. While Google will likely continue efforts to blend helpful services with social engagement, they’ve yet to find an equation that sticks. For all its Search dominance, Google’s social media failures show cracks in its strategic armor.