Google+ declares it’s time to put “Everything in its right place”.
Rumors have been going around all year that the end of Google+ is near. Now, seven months and counting into 2015, we may finally have a clear picture of Google’s plans for the social network. On Monday July 27, 2015 Google+ made a fairly large announcement on the official Google Blog titled Everything in Its Right Place posted by Bradley Horowitz, VP of Streams, Photos, and Sharing. The blog states that there are improvements and evaluations Google believes are needed in order for Google+ to have the greatest impact and provide the highest value. These changes will take place over the next few months, so if you are excited about this shift you will have to be patient for just a little longer.
The Future of Google+
Google’s vision for Google+ is not to get rid of the tool but to focus on Google+’s users and what they want and need. Many people on Google+ use it to engage with others around shared interests, beliefs, ideas, and inspirations. In the future, Google+ will continue to develop and launch new social features and to bring people and communities together.
New Google+ Changes to be Implemented in 2015
According to Google the following changes will be made to Google+ and overall Google accounts:
- Some features that are not essential to the interest-based social experience happening on Google+ will be moved. For example: Google+ Photos will move into the new Google Photos app and location sharing will be relocated to more logical tools and apps like Google Hangouts.
- Google accounts and Google+ profiles will no longer be automatically attached. People can still have one private, account login (i.e. username and password) that can access all Google tools and apps. If you have a Google account, you will be able to log in to Gmail, YouTube, Google Hangout, Google Analytics, etc. Google+ profiles will become separate public accounts that can be turned on and off. YouTube will be one of the first tools to separate from Google+.
YouTube and Google+ Work Together to Create Exceptional Social Experiences
YouTube also made an announcement on Monday July 27, 2015 sharing that Google+’s changes would impact YouTube members in a positive way. The video service shared a short explanation of what YouTube members could expect in the next few weeks:
- An improved the ranking system to reduce the visibility of junk comments.
- Comments made on YouTube will only be visible on YouTube, not on Google+ and vice versa.
- Channel moderation options will stay the same.
- In a few weeks YouTube will no longer require a Google+ profile to upload, comment, or create a channel. People will have the ability to remove unwanted Google+ profiles from their YouTube accounts as well. Wait until YouTube announces this has been turned on before making changes though, since currently deleting your Google+ profile means deleting the attached YouTube account as well.
For details on the upcoming changes to YouTube, visit the YouTube official blog.
Google Photos Replaces Google+ Photos
Finally, in May Google launched Google Photos with an eye to become the nation’s go to choice for storing photography and videos. The app provides unlimited storage for high quality image files and videos and promises to make images easy to organize and find. The transition to Google+ Photos has already started with Android and will then move to the Web and iOS. If you use Google+ Photos you will soon be prompted to make the switch to the Google Photos app.
Check out the Google Photos app for Android and learn more about these upcoming changes on the Google+ Help page for more information.
