Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Blogs Google Watch
    • Blogs
    • Google Watch
    • Search Engines

    Why Google Can’t Reveal Google+ User Engagement Yet

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    January 23, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Over at VentureBeat, Rocky Agrawal is outraged at Google for being “intellectually dishonest” regarding the user engagement the company is seeing in its Google+ social network.

      As I noted Saturday, Google CEO Larry Page counted 90 million Google+ accounts, but declined to say how frequently users were accessing +, what they were doing there and for how long. These are key user engagement statistics. Facebook shares tons of them. Google won’t.

      Agrawal said Google also tried to trick users by having Page say “+users are very engaged with our products–over 60 percent of them engage daily, and over 80 percent weekly.” Hopefully, Google would trick a few journalists into reporting 60 percent of Google+ users engage on the Website daily. Agrawal noted:

      “But what concerns me most is that Google is touting these meaningless statistics in the hopes that journalists will misunderstand them and report that Google+ is seeing rapid growth. The bottom line is, those 60 percents, 80 percents and 90 million registered users are just there to mask the fact that Google doesn’t want to tell us how many people are actually using Google+.“

      “It’s intellectually dishonest. And as a public company, it raises questions of Google’s intent — the market is watching Google’s moves in social and needs to see traction. I expect better from Google.“

      This hand-wringing is valid until you understand Google can’t report user engagement — not yet. It’s too soon.

      Social media experts put so much emphasis on user engagement that no matter what Google reports, people will compare it to Facebook and label it an utter failure.

      For marketing reasons, Google can’t afford to have reporters writing headlines such as “Google Had 90 Million Accounts But Little User Engagement.”

      If Google loses the marketing and PR battle with Google+, it will lose the interest of users who don’t want to be seen using the “next MySpace.” That goes for prospective advertisers, who will continue to flock to Facebook.

      It’s a Catch-22 of epic proportions, which is why I cringe every time Page or some other Googler discusses Google+ stats.

      Agrawal is right; Google shouldn’t be disingenuous. What it should be is quiet until it has something meaningful and substantive to report regarding Google+.

      In the meantime, feel free to follow Agrawal’s advice and write off that Google+ registered user count as a phantom number.

      Sure, there may be 90 million or 100 million people who register, but how many of those people register accounts as placeholders for themselves and their families? That’s something to consider, too. Every tech-savvy user does it to ensure their kids get the best names.

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×