Karissa Bell says, “For many, Google+ may still be seen as the punchline to jokes about failed social networks, but the Google product still has a large and loyal following — just not necessarily among the groups you might think. And, for better or worse, Google is still invested in supporting the network and its users. The company announced Tuesday that it’s officially phasing out the site’s “classic” design in favor of a redesigned look that emphasizes photos and minimizes the amount of white space. The redesign was actually unveiled last year, but up until... [...]

Megan Rose Dickey says, “Since Google+ is still alive and kicking, Google is rolling out three updates to the product over the next couple of weeks. For one, those who still use Google+ will be able to hide low-quality comments so that they can focus “on the comments that matter most,” Google+ Product Manager Danielle Buckley wrote on the company’s blog today. Another update entails zoom capabilities on photos and making it so that you’ll see less white space on the screen. Back in the day, when I dabbled with Google+, I do remember seeing a bunch of beautiful photos on the site,... [...]

Hailley Griffis says, “I’ve personally always been a huge fan of Google+, but it’s been several years since I’ve been consistently active: It simply became too difficult to keep up with posting. Has the same been true for you? I’ve always known that Google+ is good for SEO reasons, personal branding and content sharing; I just found myself moving more naturally toward Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook — networks that I could use Buffer to manage all of my posts and share similar content. Sharing to Google+ natively was too much of a stretch from my regular routine of scheduling... [...]

If you are a marketing consultant for local businesses, your greatest need is prospects, but not just any prospects; you need hot prospects, ones that both want more business (who doesn’t?) and don’t know how to get it, but may have a vague notion that the Internet may be their answer. Paul James and Anthony Devine have a new software tool that searches out prospects in dire need of online marketing services. He calls it Maps Prospector. Google Maps is a critical tools for local marketing success, but even if a local business has heard of it, they often don’t know how to take... [...]

Martin Beck says, “Local business reviews didn’t make the cut in Google’s wholesale revamp of Google+. Google+’s redesign, announced last week, puts the focus on Communities and Collections and removes display of reviews and other local business information such as addresses, phone numbers and hours of operation. The change appears to be permanent. “Reviews will no longer be shown on Google+ Pages in the new Google+ design,” Elizabeth Powers, a Google community manager, wrote in a Google My Business help forum. “Reviews are still accessible on Google Search and Maps which have... [...]

Ben Davis says, “Google+ has had a major revamp in another effort to convince all but its most loyal users to log on. Here’s the official announcement from the Google blog. It strikes me that Google is seeking a middle ground between Twitter and Medium. A place that’s definitely not Facebook (in fact, it’s not really about people) but revolves around individual interests and a hunger for micro- (or macro) blogging. Collections Collections have been available for five months but are now ‘front and center’ in Google’s words, alongside Communities. See the... [...]

Berry Levine says, “Google’s seemingly neglected social network, Google+, is finally getting some TLC. Today, the search giant announced that it’s redesigning Google+ and putting the focus on two of the features Google+ users like the best: Communities and Collections. This move was telegraphed by Google VP Bradley Horowitz this summer when he officially ending Google+’s role as the social layer for Google products. At the time, he said, Google+ would start focusing more on making it easier for people to share their interests on the network. Google said it has spent the last few months... [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “Create a social network or risk everything. That was the original pitch for Google’s Facebook rival, Google+, a refrain hammered over and over by the social network’s chief architect, Vic Gundotra, in meetings with the company’s top brass. Gundotra, described by colleagues we spoke with as charismatic and politically-savvy, eventually persuaded Larry Page, the Google cofounder who returned as CEO at the beginning of 2011 after a decade behind the scenes, to turn the company upside down for this cause“. Inside the failure of Google+, a very expensive... [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “Create a social network or risk everything. That was the original pitch for Google’s Facebook rival, Google+, a refrain hammered over and over by the social network’s chief architect, Vic Gundotra, in meetings with the company’s top brass. Gundotra, described by colleagues we spoke with as charismatic and politically-savvy, eventually persuaded Larry Page, the Google cofounder who returned as CEO at the beginning of 2011 after a decade behind the scenes, to turn the company upside down for this cause.“. Inside the failure of Google+, a very expensive... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “Earlier this week, Google unveiled some major changes to Google+, its social networking platform. Since it launched in 2011, Google+ has been an integral part of the Google experience, as the search giant used it to unify its disparate services. But on Monday, Google announced that it will stop treating Google+ as its digital glue. As Bradley Horowitz, Google’s VP of Streams, Photos, and Sharing, explained: People have told us that accessing all of their Google stuff with one account makes life a whole lot easier. But we’ve also heard that it doesn’t make... [...]