Has Google+ Surpassed 25 Million Users?

[vangogh]

Despite the fact that it's been hard to get Google+ likely has more than 25 million users (http://www.blogherald.com/2011/07/14/how-many-users-does-google-plus-have/). The number is an estimate since Google hasn't released any data, though you can read the post I just linked to in order to see how it was estimated.

Seems like 25 million users is a reasonable guestimate at the moment and the count could be significantly greater.

Also for those of you wanting in it looks as though you might not need an invitation. Google+ seems to be open to registration (plus.google.com/) at the moment.

The numbers seem pretty impressive so far. Granted it's a far cry from the half a billion or so Facebook users, but Google+ has only been around a few weeks and has been met with mostly positive reviews.

I wouldn't suggest that Facebook is going away any time soon, but Google seems to have managed to build a social network that isn't going anywhere. It's likely still filled with the tech savvy early adopters, but every social network typically starts there.

Definitely continues to be something worth paying attention to.

Added: Looks like the estimate, as reasonable as it sounded, wasn't quite accurate. I just found an article talking about Google's Q2 financial results (http://news.yahoo.com/google-2q-results-show-company-thriving-under-page-222448317.html) in which Larry Page claims the numbers are much lower


Page said Thursday that more than 10 million people already have joined Plus even though it's still requires an invitation to get into it. By comparison, Facebook has more than 750 million users.

I stil think 10 million people in 2 weeks is impressive, but it's certainly not 25 million and Google+ has a long way to go before it's even in the same ballpark as Facebook. If the invited are no longer necessary and registration is open Google+ will likely grow quicker in the coming weeks. It'll be interesting to see where it in terms of user base in a few months.

[KristineS]

I have to say, I got an invite to Google+ and set up an account, but I'm not sure what I think of it yet. Of course, I haven't spent a lot of time playing with it. I know I do like that it doesn't have all the apps and ads that Facebook has. It's a much less cluttered interface.

[vangogh]

I have an invite too (you may not need one at the moment) and I plan on setting up an account this weekend. I wanted to give myself time so I don't accidentally share things I don't want to share.

Google seems to be putting more into design across the board and I have to say I like it a lot. I think it's making their products much easier to use. A little space and a splash of color can go a long way.

Regardless of whether you like it better than Facebook what I'm finding interesting is how many people are adopting Google+ and giving it positive reviews. All of Google's previous social networking attempts were met with bad reviews and limited use. I used to watch sites that had Tweet, Like and Buzz buttons and you'd see the Buzz button never getting used. It wasn't uncommon to see 1000 tweets and 2 Buzzes.

At first that's what was happening with the +1 button, but over the last two weeks since Google+ was released the amount of +1s on websites has been increasing quickly. The last few days I'm seeing +1s in a similar amount to Facebook likes on many pages. Tweets almost always have the highest count.

I noticed yesterday that my posts have 200 or so +1s and I don't even have a button on my site. It's being used, mainly by early adopters at the moment, but the signs all seem to be pointing to Google crossing the chasm and reaching the mainstream at some future point in time.

Google+ is looking more and more like something we should all be paying attention to. Not necessarily because you or I personally prefer it to Facebook, but because it looks like it will grow to the point where it could impact the marketing of our sites.

And I haven't even mentioned yet how Google will likely use +1 signals in their ranking algorithm. They've been using signals from Facebook and Twitter for awhile now and it only makes sense they'll use signals from their own network too. It also makes sense that once they start getting good data and signal from Google+ they'll reduce the weight of the signal from Twitter and Facebook.

[greenoak]

i couldnt register but when i can i will be giving it a try.....
not sure how many places i want to be on tho...

[vangogh]

I hear you. All the different sites get to be a lot don't they? I just got in last night, thought haven't really had a chance to look around yet.

One thing about Google+ at the moment is you can't create business pages. That's supposed to be coming, but at the moment you need to open an account as an individual. Google says the business pages are coming though.

[KristineS]

I'm sure the business pages are coming, and that's really what I want it for, more than personal use. I mostly just set up an account for me to try and learn how things work.

[vangogh]

Me too. I'm not a big social networker in my personal life. I have other ways to get in touch with family and friends I think are better than interacting through a website.

However I don't mind setting up a personal profile. In many ways my brand is me so it can easily work. I am looking forward to business pages though and curious what they might offer.

Do you have an account then? If so let me know how I can find you and add you to one of my circles.