3. However, usage rate is still low (~6 min/mo)
0
1.75
3.5
5.25
7
01/ 2008 01/2013 05/2013
Minutes spent on Google+ per user per MONTH
(Data according to ComScore & Nielsen)
Facebook has over 400 minutes per user per month
That’s more than 50x higher
4. Of course, Google claims
these numbers are very off,
reiterating their massive user
growth
9. In fact, that’s not just my feel
Some have similar views on Quora
as well as on Google Search
10. Of course, these don’t matter,
because the fact is that Google+
has massive user growth
11. But in reality, it has massive signups
because Google uses all its
resources to push users to sign-up.
(Not the merit of the product itself)
I call this Brute Force
Distribution
16. This is also NOT the merit of
the product itself. People are
willing to eat insects if it
improves their search rankings.
17. Wouldn’t it be better if the product
itself was actually awesome?
18. In fact, a great amount of “social products” from Google
aren’t well-designed (many were cut). Some other projects
are excellent, like Search, GMail (I have converted so many
people from Hotmail/YMail to Gmail),Analytics, Maps,
Earth, Gchat and much much more.
So why is Social so hard?
19. And don’t get me wrong. I have A LOT of
respect for the Google+ Team.
All of them are intimidatingly smart.
21. By tradition, Product Managers mostly are engineering
backgrounds, and they have all been through a rigorous
interviewing process of brain teasers, logic, and
probability
22. This is great, as it is very important to make sure
Googlers are fiercely intelligent to grind out world-
changing stuff, but it could create a disconnect to the
average user in the outside world.
23. Hmm, this wouldn’t be too
complex for the user would it?
It’s pretty easy...
Hey guys, do you think this would
be too complex for the user?
Yea, this is just as easy as
that brainteaser I solved
last week!
Hmm, I don’t think so. It’s
fairly straightforward
Note: this is an exaggerated parody to
communicate a point
24. But for the rest of the world (like
my mom)
???????????
She has no idea what’s going on
25. And there are A LOT of people
like my mom
???????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
26. But my GRANDmother is on
Facebook every single day, happily
stalking her grandchildren
What’s the difference?
27. A great product makes
mainstream users (like my mom)
feel smart.
28. That means less clutter, less
complexity, and perhaps less
features
29. Lets look at why someone might
feel stupid using Google+
30. Users usually have to type “plus.google.com”
which is a tangible hassle.That in itself bars
many people from going onto it all the time
Facebook spent a lot to get rid of
TheFaceBook.com
31. You can’t even type in shortcuts
It gives you a list of options
34. Here are two other ways to access Google+
content. It’s alright, but not obvious for most
people (+name still isn’t intuitive at this point)
A close family member of mine said that the
number in gmail is “confusing and annoying”
36. No “grounding” colors to help visual segmentation
This whole screen places equal value on
every activity
37. Sharing - the top default action is not obvious
It’s easy for a user to click on the search bar in hopes to share.
The share box is a bit too slick and transparent
???
???
56. The New Google+ Looks Much Better
I accidentally showed Pinterest instead...
57. Now lets go to the
Profile Page
Learn from others.
Problem solved.
58. Yay! I can change my name by clicking on my name, as well
as the background image!
But how do I change my work info??? I can’t click on it.
59. Hmm, there’s a little “profile” icon here. Perhaps I can
change my other info there.
Let me try to click it
60. Ahh! The left menu appears when I hover on the left
It can’t be the “Profile” button because I just
clicked on that
61. Hmm, I’ll try to move my mouse quickly and click the icon.
I tried to click on the icon, but...
62. The hover effect was too fast and I accidentally clicked
on the home button instead...
Hey, how come I keep seeing this Chris Pirillo guy?
Doesn’t anyone else use Google+?
87. Lets just check out some content.
I like this post about 3D Printing. I’ll comment on it.
88. Oh no, all the other strangers who commented on it
are creeping into my GMail!
I don’t really want to get emails from strangers
commenting on stuff.
92. OK. I tried “Profile and Privacy”
After scrolling down, I didn’t find it. I’m lost. Google
+? Products? What’s the difference?
93. I gave up on the hunt. I decided to Google it.
Ah, the answer is “Google+”
94. Yay, here it is. I finally found it.
I almost never wanted to comment
on Google+ Posts Again
95. Ahh, I got more emails during this time!
(even though I archived the conversation)
I’m glad I turned it off. I don’t need more
eMail stress...
But wait...what’s this?
96. Oh, someone I don’t know is promoting his
event....
How do I turn it off?
97. Oh, I could scroll down and mute the post
Simple enough. I feel slightly smart.
109. Take a quick guess - how do I send him a
message? 4 Seconds?
Hmm, I can’t post a new message on his wall
it seems.
110. There’s no where to click, and his name appears
to be a dead link...
Right here! But how do I find out more
about him?
111. So much for helping me socialize and
getting to know my friends more.
112. At this point, I gave up on being very
“social” on Google+
113. Just too much work to interact
with friends and their photos.
114. I’m already a relatively savvy person in
tech! I cannot imagine someone like
my mom using a product like this. I
dread guiding her through the
experience too
And.....
115. This person is actually me
???????????
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
116. Google says that Google+ is a
social layer that integrates personal
data throughout all their products
117. It’s great that Google can get
more social data. But why
should consumers love it?