Google+ Rising

Facebook. LinkedIn.  Tumlr.  Pinterest.  Twitter.  So many social networking sites have our attention.  If the numbers coming out of Google are legit, Google+ may soon deserve our screen time.

Google+ had about 40 million users less than six months ago, according to the company.  It more than double to 90 million in January, and now it claims it has surpassed the 100 million mark.  I created a profile on it last summer but never used it.  It might be time to dust it off. 

For marketing purposes, I don’t care if sites like Google+ offer some cool features or a great way of posting photos and information.  I only care how I can exploit it to gather information or easily make contact with potential clients.  So I welcome more sites like Google+, provided they allow me to troll through forums and profiles in a useful way.  But I wonder what would inspire a consumer to have more than one profile.  FB serves one’s social needs well and handles professional connections.  What can another site really offer that these two don’t?  For now, Google+ appears to be the next big thing – even if it’s not really needed.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s leading book publicity firm. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person