A significant announcement from Google was overshadowed last week in the wake of “the dress” debate that split social media conversations.
According to WIRED, Google+ has finally met its imminent demise as a competitor for Facebook and Twitter and has announced its breakup. Google hopes to continue as a social network site, though. With these changes, your social, interactive experience won’t be relegated to a single screen with too much white space and not enough people.
As social media has shifted from updated streams of content to specialized and specific aspects of communications through photos and messaging, Google+ follows the trend by splitting their services into their own platforms.
The original concept of a one-stop spot for all things social is changing into three branches (or more) of the social sphere – Google+ stream, photos and communication. Much like other platforms, which have specific functions, Google intends for each of their platforms to excel in their own ways.
Google+ already excelled in photo storage, editing and sharing that offering users advanced techniques, like the capability to combine multiple photos to create one with everyone smiling and create high-speed gifs of your favorite successive shots. Now, the service will optimize these features, making storing, editing and sharing your photos even more enjoyable.
Hangouts were also a versatile communication tool for Google+ that supporting text, audio, video, emojis and photos for a variety of communication outlets and preferences.
This multi-platform split allows for Google to continue observing the things that make their users unique individuals, which Google+ excelled in as a platform. It transcended all other services and created an image of the individual user, allowing Google to tailor advertisements to the right audiences on the right avenues.
Content will still stream on Google+ and businesses can still generate creative content on the platform, leading to better SEO and higher search rankings. The specialized streams and photos will allow businesses to maintain a multi-platform voice for their audiences and specialize messages based on the function of the stream or platform.
Businesses can optimize the photo album feature of Google+ as its own branch, allowing easy sharing between co-workers and create and archive photos from their business for future marketing pieces.
Hangouts will become a specific messaging platform, similar to Facebook messenger and WhatsApp, allowing for businesses to have open and instant communication with each other and consumers.
So, whether the dress is blue and black (which it is) or white and gold, the more important split is the one on Google+, which will open the possibilities for more specialized (and useful) platforms for businesses and consumers alike.