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Google+ to go it alone: good news for Google+ and YouTube


On Monday Google announced that Google+ was heading in a new direction. +Bradley Horowitz - Google's head of Photos and Streams - explained that Google+ would focus on an interest-based social experience on Google+ itself and a Google+ Profile identity would no longer be necessary across Google products. The first big post-announcement change:  the separation of YouTube comments from Google+.

It's a major change of direction for Google, and I think it was a good decision. I think this is a positive change for both Google+ and YouTube, as well as other Google products.

A Gradual Change

The separation of Google products from Google+ has actually been going on for some time now.  Just over a year ago I posted an overview of what Google products required a Google+ Profile. Since then, I've had to update it many times:
  • October 2014: Google Hangouts extension and apps no longer require a Google+ Profile
  • March 2015: Google Hangouts chat photo sharing and group video calls no longer require a Google+ Profile
  • May 2015: Google Photos launch, including auto-backup
And there were other indications that Google has been moving away from a "Google+ everywhere" model.
  • YouTube comments dropped some Google+-related features, such as the option to disable replies. 
  • Local business search and reviews moved to Google Maps
  • And at the end of May the Google+ sharing box and profile link was removed from the Google-wide navigation bar. 
The changes have been slow, but steady. Looking back, this week's announcement should not have come as a huge surprise. As Horowitz explained in an interview in May:
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.

This is not the death of Google+! 

Google+ will not be going away. Instead it will stand on its own as an interest-based social network.

As Horowitz explained in more detail after the official announcement:
What does this mean for Google+ the product? Relieved of the notion of integrating with every other product at Google, Google+ can now focus on doing what it’s already doing quite well: helping millions of users around the world connect around the interest they love. Aspects of the product that don’t serve this agenda have been, or will be, retired. But you’ll also see a slew of improvements that make this use case shine (like the recent launch of Collections -https://plus.google.com/collections/featured).
The ability to follow and connect with people who have similar interests has always been one of the main reasons why I enjoy using Google+. Circles let me decide who I share content with. Communities - both public and private - are good for sharing interesting content and discussions. And I think the new Collections are a great way to share and follow interesting content independent of the personal connections made through Circles.

Over the past few months Google+ itself has become more streamlined with the removal of auto-created hashtags, Ripples and Circle sharing. My hope is that we will see more improvements and new features over the coming months.

There are many folks who only have a Google+ Profile because they wanted to back up their photos, or chat in Hangouts or create a YouTube channel. They should eventually be able to delete their Google+ Profile without affecting the Google products they do use.  

Only time will tell whether Google can convince such users that Google+ is worth joining on its own merits. But I think having a user base that wants to participate on Google+, rather than a significant number of users who felt forced to join, will be a better experience for everyone.

A YouTube without Google+

Over the coming months YouTube will no longer require Google+ integration for new channels or to access to YouTube's features. No longer will users have to choose between using their channel identity all across Google, using their real name on their channel, or creating a confusing-to-manage Google+ Page. 

And just as I think Google+ as a social network will benefit from the focus on the Google+ platform, this will benefit YouTube as well. YouTube is (and has always been) a social network itself, and freed from limitations imposed by Google+ integration it will be freer to develop new features that build engagement and community on YouTube.

The first step of that process is the separation of YouTube comments from Google+ posts:
The comments you make on YouTube will now appear only on YouTube, not also on Google+. And vice-versa.
The new comment system looks much like the old one simplified: no "share to Google+" option, no need to select your audience, no plus mentions.  Just post a comment and the comment appears. Easy?

And beyond the ease of commenting, I think limiting the comments to the YouTube watch page is a good thing. The Google+-linked comment system, with Google+ shares of videos appearing as comments, fragmented the discussion of a video. Instead of a collection of independent discussions, the video watch page should now become more like a single big discussion of the video. For YouTube creators who want to build a community of fans, that's a great change. 

So how will all this work? YouTube has said they plan to keep features users like, such as the comment moderation tools and the ability to manage multiple channels. How those will be implemented is as yet unclear.

I will note that the reason I started this blog was that the YouTube-Google+ integration process is and was complicated and confusing. I have my fingers crossed that the reverse process will go more smoothly, but there are sure to be bumps in the road.

The future

My primary Google account does not have Google+ Profile. I never "upgraded" that account because I did not want to use a single identity for all the Google products I use. 

Since the launch of Google+ I've seen a fair number of comments by Google+ers dismissing peoples' concerns and annoyance with having to create a Google+ Profile as confusion or ignorance. But I'm a fan of Google+ and I know quite well how it works, and even so I've always found it bothersome that a public Google-wide identity was mandatory for non-public activities like backing up my photos or private Hangout video calls.

So I personally think it's fantastic that I'm now able (or soon will be able) to use my main Google account for everything again, just like I did before Google+ launched.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. There is the potential for Google Photos to improve on both Google+ Photos and Picasa Web Albums, with the added benefit of being available to all Google account holders. Hangouts is regularly updating and adding improvements. And YouTube is sure to head in new directions - the first being the YouTube Gaming platform.

The future looks good from here!

Thoughts from others that I largely agree with:
Posted by Peggy K. Edited to remove Google+ links. 
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Spam and personal attacks are not allowed. Any comment may be removed at my own discretion ~ Peggy