Google+ One Month Later: Whats Next?

Already using Google+? Follow Mashables Pete Cashmore for the latest about the platforms new features, tips and tricks as well as social media and technology updates.

Its been exactly one month since Google+ made its debut. The social network was designed to be more than just Googles response to Facebook; its an extension of Google itself, as Google SVP Vic Gundotra told us before launch. After the failure of Google Wave and Google Buzz, Google+ is! the sea rch giants last best chance to grab a piece of the social-networking pie.

So one month in, hows it doing?

Pretty well, by most accounts. Google+ has become the fastest-growing social network in history. Thanks to a fair number of positive reviews, it has acquired more than 20 million users a phenomenal accomplishment by any standard.

At the same time, there are signs that Google+ is losing steam, and that it could have an early adopter problem.

SEE ALSO: GOOGLE+: THE COMPLETE GUIDE | VIDEOS | REVIEW

Rapid Growth

When Google+ first launched, Mashable readers had a largely positive reaction to it. Nearly 50% of respondents in our poll said they loved it, even before they played with it.

The love affair didnt stop there, though. There was high demand for Google+ invites during the social networks first week of existence. Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, far from shunning the rival service, quickly became Google+s most popular user. Many of our readers even said they planned to defect from Facebook in favor of Google+.

Google+ continued to gain steam andhit 10 mill! ion user s sometime around July 12. Celebrities and public figures such as William Shatner, Paris Hilton and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have embraced the service, although tech celebs like Leo Laporte and Robert Scoble remain the social networks dominant figures.

Google+ had 20 million unique visitors on June 22, according to comScore.

Growing Pains

Google+s ascension to the upper echelons of social networking hasnt been entirely smooth. Its first major issue: poor handling of Google+ profiles for businesses and brands.

When the service first launched, many companies (including Mashable) rushed to create profiles. But it soon emerged that Google didnt intend businesses to use the platform, and it asked companies to hold off on creating profiles.

Google suspended some business profiles and left others open. This inconsistent approach resulted in a firestorm of criticism from some quarters. The search giant has since accelerated the launch of Google+ business profiles, though this clearly should have been a priority from the start.

The search giant has also received some flak for a wave of suspensions last weekend surrounding the companys common name policy. It suspended profiles with uncommon names in an attempt to fight spam and fake profiles. In doing so, it suspended several legitimate accounts and pseudonyms. Google has since said it is evaluating its suspension practices.

The social networks biggest problem isnt this kind of controversy, however; its finding ways to sustain growth. Traffic has dipped in the past week. Anecdotal evidence also suggests the big rush to joi! n Google + has passed. Its filled with early adopters, but still lacks the mainstream audience that keeps a social network relevant.

Whats Next?

Google+ Logo

This is the Google+ logo.

Google+ Icons

The Google+ icons. Starting top left and circling to the right: Circles, Hangouts, Home, Sparks, Profile, Photos.

New Google+ Navigation Bar

All Google sites will sport the new Google+ navigation bar. It includes notifications, profile information and content sharing options.

Google+ Stream

This is the Google+ Stream, where users share content and see what their friends are sharing. It is similar to the Facebook News Feed.

Google+ Circles

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Google+ Circles is Google's version of the Facebook friend list or the Twitter List. Users can select multiple friends and drag-and-drop them into groups. This makes it easier to send stuff to friends, family or the entire world.

Google+ Circles Editor

This is the Google+ Circles editor in action. Google has created unique animations for adding and removing friends through HTML5.

Google+ Sparks

Google+ Sparks is Google's content recommendation and discovery engine. Users can search different topics and find relevant articles, videos and photos. Users can then share that content with their friends.

Google+ Hangouts

Google+ has a unique video chat feature called Hangouts, which lets you chat with up to 10 people at the ame time.

Google+ Photos

Google+ allows you to upload and share photos with your friends. It includes photo tagging and a simple browser-based image edi! tor.

Google+ Profile

Google+ Profiles are like most profile pages -- it includes basic information about the user like interests, occupation and profile photos.

When we first reviewed Google+, we had a positive but cautious assessment of the social network. A month later, that assessment remains unchanged.

Google+ is a solid product, but thats to be expected from this company. The real challenge is attracting the mainstream users beyond early adopters. Getting to 20 million users might sound impressive, but its still a drop in the bucket compared to Facebooks 750 million users.

That said, Google+ hasnt even launched publicly. The tech titan hasnt spent any time marketing Google+ to its mainstream users. Once it opens the doors, millions of people will see notifications in their Google navigation bar and be reminded that people are talking to them on Google+. And all it takes for Mom and Dad to learn about Google+ is one little link on the Google.com homepage they already visit.

Google+ is a long-term play and cannot be measured in short-term gains or losses. Its going to be many more months until we know what place, if any, Google+ has in the social media universe.

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