In 2011, Google was terrified of Facebook. Google+ was the company's all-in response—deeply integrated into Gmail, YouTube, Search, and every Google product. The strategy worked initially: 500 million registered users, technically the second-largest social network.
Company Data
- Launched: June 2011
- Registered Users: 500+ million (mostly forced)
- Active Users: Very low engagement
- Failed: April 2019 (consumer version)
But registered users aren't active users. Google+ became a ghost town—people had accounts because they had to, not because they wanted to be there. The signature feature, Circles, solved a problem most users didn't have. After a data breach exposed 500,000 accounts, Google accelerated the shutdown. The consumer version was killed in April 2019.
Key Lesson
Forcing users onto a platform creates accounts, not engagement. Social products must be pull-based (users want to be there), not push-based (users are coerced).