Early this summer I was honored to be invited to speak at MozCon. (You can find the video’s of all of the presenters for purchase if you’re interested – definitely some amazingcontent in there. Not sure how I got included but I was definitely humbled by my company.) At the end of my presentation someone asked me my thoughts on Google + and I gave my standard answer: It’s a third sock. People chuckled then I explained myself a bit. Then I quickly jumped off stage before anyone realized I should’nt have been up there to begin with and checked Twitter to see how badly I made a fool of myself. I’ll spare you the round-up except to say that the “third sock” comment really resonated with some folks. This got me thinking. My incredibly silly personal observation deserved to be fleshed out just a bit more.
What is this “Third Sock”?
There is a time and a place for everything. Google + (or is it Google Plus…how are we supposed to “write” this?) is quite new so it’s too early to carve anything in stone. But that’s kind of the point right? It’s early. There are a lot of reasons to get yourself onto G+ (is that okay?) and even some to get your business involved.
I actually have a post coming up in Search Engine People arguing that small business owners should wait just a wee bit – depending of course what their demo and product market is – otherwise they risk “killing” their business. Dramatic? Yes. But that’s the point. More on that over at SEP when the time is right. (I will update with a link after it goes live.) I could make a great case right now for why organizations (especially you blue chip guys) should be at least experimenting on Google +. But this is NOT THE TIME FOR THAT. Okay. I’m done yelling.
What I really want to talk about is Google + from a user stand point. I am an admitted social media addict. I am one of “those” people. I check Twitter, Facebook and even e-mail most days before I even get out of bed. And then let’s be real – once I’m actually vertical I have to see what’s going on in the Instagram world and check out what’s been posted on Pinterest and Tumblr, etc, yada and so forth. Each one of these serves a purpose in my life and adds a specific value to my experience online with people I know.
Facebook: Where I keep in touch with friends, family, and colleagues (albeit on a more personal level.)
Twitter: Where I keep up to date on happenings from our industry, keep up on breaking news, chat with friends, and sometimes even do some business.
LinkedIn: Although it’s not part of my morning routine, it’s my professional rolodex. It’s where I can keep tabs on professional contacts more officially (since let’s be real – these days I’m following them on Twitter and many are friends on Facebook).
Instagram: Let’s me share pictures easily and creatively.
Pinterst: First of all – it’s amazing. And addictive. Second it’s a great discovery engine and a creative outlet.
Tumblr: fast, quick and easy sharing/blogging.
E-mail: Necessity for work, and where else would I get my Fab.com, Foundary and LivingSocial bargains all in one place?
My point in outlining each of those is only that I feel like my online needs are being met. I don’t feel like there are any gaps that aren’t being taken care of. There are niche sites that I didn’t even mention that fill in some random holes. Fitocracy is a great example of a niche site that I use. But again…got it. Covered. Thanks.
What I DON’T need is a ‘clone’ of any of these. I don’t need another LinkedIn. I don’t need another Facebook. I have one of those already. Just like I don’t need a third sock. I only have two feet yo – what am I going to do with the third sock? (Get your mind out of the gutter people. Seriously.) From a user perspective it just isn’t fulfilling a need or closing a gap. Yes, I totally admit there are some things/features in Google + that are great that Facebook for example does not have. But what Facebook has and will continue to have that will keep me, and many other people there, is my mom. My brother. And my aunt. And my cousins, and my previous coworkers, and my old classmates, and my IRL friends – ETC. Some people will joke that those are precisely the reasons they want to leave Facebook. But in all seriousness – these are the reasons that we, as users, are involved in social. Those relationships.
Now – from an online marketer’s perspective it’s a whole different ball game. If you can’t see how Google + is going to (assuming it gains user traction) play into SEO then there’s really just no help for you 
. More on that in a different post perhaps. If you’re interested now then I highly suggest taking a look RWW’s post on How Will Google + Affect SEO, or get involved in the community discussion on SEOmoz. Moz also has some really great stuff on G+ (I highly recommend reading the post in using the Ripples to find influencers. Exciting stuff for marketing geeks!!)
Woj Kwasi
Nov 17, 2011 -
Google do their best work when they stick to being innovators.. when they try to be the cool kid.. it doesn’t go down as well
Nice post Kristy, enjoyed reading it
Also reminded me that my laundry is somewhat overdue 
Kristy Bolsinger
Nov 17, 2011 -
Thanks @Woj – glad you liked it.
I have to admit they did a really great job with G+ though. There are some really great features. I don’t love the work involved in putting together one’s circles, but they do a good job of having you start on that from the beginning so there’s never a ‘have to go back through hundreds of people’ type of situations.
Zach Holman (@holman) does a much better job of explaining my thoughts on that than I do
http://zachholman.com/posts/shit-work/
John Holland
Nov 17, 2011 -
It may be a bit too early to make this kind of a declaration. There was a time when everyone I knew was on Friendster. A few months later everyone bolted Friendster for Myspace because it had so many features Friendster didn’t have. Myspace enjoyed its time on top for a couple of years until Facebook opened to the public, with a cleaner, easier to user interface but still the same basic idea. Now Google+ has been here for just over 5 months with a better interface than Facebook and certain circles (no pun intended) are taking to it. While it may not be worthwhile to you now, you may be saying something different a year from now.
Kristy Bolsinger
Nov 17, 2011 -
@John – I completely agree. This post is totally aimed at current state. I’ve always believed that the same “curve of cool” that applies to CPG specifically, will also apply to our online “products”. MySpace, Friendster, etc WERE cool. They were unable to hold users attention for a variety of reasons. Facebook could very possibly suffer the same fate. So far they’ve proved themselves much more capable of innovation than either of those specific predecessors – or at the very least we’ve all placed so much dependance on them that they’re given a little more lenience. But regardless – yes, this could very well change. Until Google + is able to offer me something that the other sites cannot – it’s about as useful as a third sock. But that’s not to say I won’t need a back up some day
Douglas Thomas
Nov 17, 2011 -
If you see Google+ as a social network first, then yeah it’s a third sock.
If you see it as a discussion engine, then it’s less a third sock, but maybe needs more darning before it’s Digg/Fark/Reddit/Hackernews/name-your-favorite-just-shy-of-BBS.
If it’s an authority metric (not just for SEO specifically, but mostly), then it’s key — but that’s hardly for general users, only publishers/writers.
But your comment assumes that there is only one major player in a given website niche. Or that one website has only one niche. I used Twitter almost exclusively for industry news; now my use has shifted as I’ve used it more. But that’s not the damning point — it’s that something like Pinterest and Tumblr didn’t exist 3 years ago — the whole concept of reblogging and slightly-larger-than-Twitter microblogging wasn’t a typical user act until they became popular. It’s assuming that LivingSocial and Groupon can’t have the same userbase, given equal access (ie email).
I agree, though, that tumbleweeds and dry bones make for a poor social network. But Google+, I don’t think, was ever designed as a Facebook-killer. Especially in its currently-primordial state, opportunity abounds. Its one-click signup combined with something like Hangouts could be a viable public replacement for free webinars, its authority metrics and design could help put official faces to the web, and its post and comment system transcends the nonlinearity of tweets, the casual nature of Facebook comments, and the walled-off outsider-hating communities of old-school forums. That, to me at least, seems like a relatively unique niche, if possibly too broad and too reliant on a not-yet-arrived userbase. However, as an “extra layer” to Google properties, it may yet bloom into something that is not already covered with a fuzzy, well-worn sock.
Kristy Bolsinger
Nov 17, 2011 -
@Douglas – I agree with a ton of what you’re saying. I especially like the idea of thinking about it as more of a discussion engine than anything but that’s more an approach to the platform rather than a direction. That’s up to the users to evolve over time.
And my comment does assume there is only one major player – for me, right now. I’m really talking about the most common denominator, the casual user. As I mention in the post and the comment above this is highly likely to change over time. I’d like it to. I don’t see any reason why we need to become stagnant nor do I think that’s very likely. Google + has a great number of advantages over other soc-net’s and there are a lot of reasons I’d like to see it succeed.
Right now – from a persona perspective the only reason I go there now is to play around. And honestly to maintain my profile. But again – it is too early to make any ultimate and final decisions. This is only how I see it from a user perspective right now, today.
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Ben Hunt
Nov 17, 2011 -
Hi Kristy. I’ve been thinking and writing about Web2-3 for years, and G+ *could* be the start of something extremely significant. As someone hinted, looking at it as platform, not an app or a space. http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/blog/google-plus-project-web-3-0-may-be-around-the-corner/
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Kristy Bolsinger
Nov 4, 2012 -
Ben – sorry I’m just now seeing this comment almost a year later.
While I still feel the same about it I have always believed that there’s more to it than meets the eye. If only for Google’s ownership over the web experience for users. They can force their hand on this and increase their users and perhaps even adoption and use. As long as they push it as a ranking factor people will continue to use it. Marketers anyway. Users will follow. I think they may actually be on to something this time, but really only time will tell.