Google's (GOOG) Has Plenty of Google+ Users, But There is One Problem...
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Probably the most deceptive name for a social networking platform is Google+.
Although Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has made a strong push for its Facebook competitor, gaining about 90 million users since last June, the underlying issue isn't the user base...it's that no one is using it.
New data from comScore revealed the ugly truth recently. According to the firm, Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)(NYSE: FB) users spend -- on average -- 405 minutes per month using the site. Tumblr and Pinterest also had strong showings at 89 minutes, while Twitter drew 21 minutes and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) at 17 minutes.
How many for Google+? About 3 minutes per month. On average.
On analyst at Altimeter Group, quoted by the WSJ, put it best in saying, "Nobody wants another social network right now." He continued that Google hasn't communicated what the benefits of Google+ are to the point that folks will want to build up another set of contacts from scratch.
For its part, Google has said it's not looking to take down Facebook (*cough*) and Google+ is more of a long-term initiative until Google can ramp-up development of apps as well as other key features which makes Facebook so appealing. They also said it's supposed to compliment services like Gmail and YouTube to broaden the experience.
Turning to social gaming giant Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), which also launched a slew of games for Google+ last year, the company noted growth on Facebook in 2011 but said growth of game players has "been slow."
Others have echoed the sentiment, saying responses to postings on Google+ haven't been as robust as those on Facebook.
But, did anyone expect a miracle right out of the gate from Google? Facebook has been around since 2004, steadily growing since then. It's had a 7 year head start on Google+ which is tough to make up in such a short period of time, whether you're Google or not. It will be interesting to see how Google makes adjustments to the platform in order for stronger growth and better retention in the future.
Shares are 1.5 percent better on the session.
Although Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has made a strong push for its Facebook competitor, gaining about 90 million users since last June, the underlying issue isn't the user base...it's that no one is using it.
New data from comScore revealed the ugly truth recently. According to the firm, Facebook (Nasdaq: FB)(NYSE: FB) users spend -- on average -- 405 minutes per month using the site. Tumblr and Pinterest also had strong showings at 89 minutes, while Twitter drew 21 minutes and LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) at 17 minutes.
How many for Google+? About 3 minutes per month. On average.
On analyst at Altimeter Group, quoted by the WSJ, put it best in saying, "Nobody wants another social network right now." He continued that Google hasn't communicated what the benefits of Google+ are to the point that folks will want to build up another set of contacts from scratch.
For its part, Google has said it's not looking to take down Facebook (*cough*) and Google+ is more of a long-term initiative until Google can ramp-up development of apps as well as other key features which makes Facebook so appealing. They also said it's supposed to compliment services like Gmail and YouTube to broaden the experience.
Turning to social gaming giant Zynga (Nasdaq: ZNGA), which also launched a slew of games for Google+ last year, the company noted growth on Facebook in 2011 but said growth of game players has "been slow."
Others have echoed the sentiment, saying responses to postings on Google+ haven't been as robust as those on Facebook.
But, did anyone expect a miracle right out of the gate from Google? Facebook has been around since 2004, steadily growing since then. It's had a 7 year head start on Google+ which is tough to make up in such a short period of time, whether you're Google or not. It will be interesting to see how Google makes adjustments to the platform in order for stronger growth and better retention in the future.
Shares are 1.5 percent better on the session.
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