The Google Plus Love Is Starting to Bloom

Back when I first learned about the tech and content community, circa 2007, I saw Whurley and Giovanni Gallucci use Twitter as a way to announce upcoming speakers at Barcamp Austin. After that night, I started delving more and more into Twitter.

That same year, Facebook was on peoples' radars; but, we could not join. It was limited to universities and businesses. When Facebook opened up to the general public, I signed up to see what all the fuss was about. I have to say that it was nice; but, it would not take me away from Twitter for some time.

I remember spending a lot of time telling people about Twitter and Facebook, and they'd look at me like I was some kind of geek. Once the celebrities started using the stuff, all of the sudden everybody started joining in droves.

I find myself in the same situation with Google+ these days. I still pop in and out of Facebook on occasion to check messages. I still tweet on occasion. But, for the most part, Google Plus is where I spend the majority of my time. Actually, it started with Google Buzz.

In my eyes, Google Buzz and Google + are the exact same thing, except that Plus is much more presentable and integrated into the Google ecosystem. But, let me add that influential people in the online community are becoming enamored with Google Plus as well.

Robert Scoble has a post about how blogging isn't IT any more, and it's mainly due to Google Plus. At the risk of being a sycophant, I must say that I mostly agree with him because I see the potential. Let me just add, however, that my ad revenue from Google Adsense has suddenly jumped since Google Plus launched. I'm not rolling in dough; but, I can afford a nice dinner on occasion.

Are blogs dead? No. But, I agree with Scoble that they aren't quite the draw they used to be. But, that is at odds with the increased ad revenues. I get comments for my blog posts on Facebook and Google+ more than on the blog itself.

Guy Kawasaki also recently launched his book on Google Plus, titled What the Plus! Google+ for the Rest of Us. Guy has a big following and can be credited for realizing how awesome Apple computers were when they were just starting out. Guy has a good sense of what's going to be hot.

Other influential people out there are also on the Google Plus bandwagon, with good reason.

But, there is a cognitive dissonance. You might be thinking why is Google Plus not as popular as Facebook? All I can say is, add "yet" to that. G+ is still rather new. The network effect has still not kicked in for "the rest of the world". For now, Google Plus is a playground for the early adopters and people who "get it". But, you'll see that start to change in the coming months when you will find you cannot escape using Google Plus without using Google.

Here is a great post by Ivan Dimitrijevic highlighting key individuals who see Google Plus as a major force in the coming months.

I can see what is coming; I've been there before. I find myself rather anxious that things should happen sooner.