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back to article So long, 'invincible dreamers': Google+ daddy Gundotra resigns

Vic Gundotra, the Google senior vice president best known for creating Google+, is leaving the Chocolate Factory after nearly eight years on the job. Predictably, perhaps, Gundotra announced his departure in a bittersweet post to his personal Google+ page, in which he thanked the team that helped build Mountain View's not- …

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  1. M Gale

    Oh goody.

    Let's hope whoever comes in next isn't so much of a dick about trying to shoe-horn everybody onto Google Fucking Minus just to rate an Android app or leave a comment on your own fucking Youtube video.

    How's that integration going at getting rid of the Youtube trolls? Or the fake app ratings? Or any-fucking-thing?

    Door. Don't let it smack you in the arse.

    (now a happy Vimeo/DailyMotion user)

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Oh goody.

      ERM you don't need to use Google plus for any of those things. Just a real name to stop lameness

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      1. M Gale
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        Re: Oh goody.

        ERM yes you do.

        And you don't need your real name. Call yourself "John Smith", and Google Minus has no fucking idea how to verify that. Yes, you do need a Minus account in order to leave Youtube comments, even on your own fucking videos in your own fucking channel, or to rate or review Android apps.

        Are you seriously claiming the Google Minus bullshit on Youtube has stopped even one iota of one percent of the "lameness" in Youtube comments? Or that it has stopped any of the fake, idiotic or just downright wrong reviews on the Play Store? Open your eyes.

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        1. boba1l0s2k9
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          Trollface

          Re: Oh goody.

          Don't hold back -- tell us how you really feel.

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    2. vlbaindoor
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      Thumb Down

      Re: Oh goody.

      The moment someone uses foul language can mean one or more of the following three :

      1. The person is lost for words and is overwhelmed with emotions - mostly negative emotions

      2. Is juvenile and yet to master the language.

      3. Limited vocabulary.

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh goody.@ vlbaindoor

        "The moment someone uses foul language can mean one or more of the following three :"

        Alternatively it can mean that the they have a colourful vocabulary and they feel strongly about the matter. But I daresay you'll agree that those who complain about other people's uncouth language in this forum are:

        1. Lacking in moral fibre

        2. Barking up the wrong tree

        3. Rather intolerant, unless the language is actually directed at them.

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      2. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Oh goody.

        My vocabulary is fine, and like many of my co-workers, I swear. Get over it.

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        1. M Gale
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          Re: Oh goody.

          2+2=4, motherfuckers.

          Guess that means I'm wrong.

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      3. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
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        Pint

        @ vlbaindoor Re: Oh goody.

        Scurrilous vagabond! I find your deleterious insinuations both haughty and contemptuous. Your vapid and irrational comments lead me to believe that your lineage could be none other than a cockferret for a father and a cuntweasel for a mother! Perhaps it is worth the application of effort to steer your course away from the seemingly inevitable douchepocalypse and towards a glorious nerd-calming fuckfest of personality-altering proportions.

        May you find peace and the chance to chill. ---> Beer, because it's Friday.

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        1. M Gale
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          @ Trevor_Pott

          A truly awe-inspiring and inspired post. Superlative prose of a formidable verbosity, to wit; fucking epicness.

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  3. hodma727

    Love the claim of that many "active" users. LOL.

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    1. Psyx
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      I'm guessing a bit of spin was used. A user's G- account is linked in to Youtube/Gmail/a Google user profile and so on. For someone to be 'active' for the purposes of propaganda, they'd only have to be 'active' in that they use Youtube/google search/Gmail, not necessarily G-.

      I've had to work with marketing weasels long enough to figure out how they lie.

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Totally untrue.

        Google+ had a larger active userbase than Twitter LONG before the shared sign-in. (and that's all it is, a shared sign in).

        Active users are counted as active Google+ users ONLY if they do active things, (share their Youtube comment with Google+ stream for example - something that's unticked by default).

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        1. Captain Scarlet
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          Re: Totally untrue.

          Odd, for me it was ticked by default

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  4. Vociferous

    I wonder if Google+ flopping is why he's let go.

    I don't know how many billions Google+ has cost, but it hasn't been cheap -- and it's pure, unadulterated, manure. Few things have tarnished Google's image like the increasingly desperate attempts to force users to use Google+.

    Of course, Gundotra leaving doesn't mean Google will back off shoehorning people into Google+ any more than Ballmer & Sinofsky leaving Microsoft meant Microsoft backing off TIFKAM and Windows Live. It just means that Google wants new fresh ideas on how to make people hate Google+ less.

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    1. Tank boy
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      Pint

      Re: I wonder if Google+ flopping is why he's let go.

      He's not so much leaving as being shown the door because Google+ isn't that great. They were a day late and a dollar short getting into the game and it shows. There has to be a scapegoat in every disaster, he got picked. There are probably some good uses for +, but I haven't found any yet, and as much as people gripe about facebook et al, it's just a watered down version of social media.

      Cheers because it's Friday.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I wonder if Google+ flopping is why he's let go.

      Another pleb that registers for google plus but doesn't add anyone an then thinks its a ghost town.

      My facebook account is a ghost town forvthevsame reason.

      For me, The quality of content on Google plus is vastly superior to Facebook drivel.

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      1. Vociferous
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        Re: I wonder if Google+ flopping is why he's let go.

        > The quality of content on Google plus is vastly superior to Facebook drivel.

        that may be, but the problem is that I'm not interested in either, but Google forces me to use Google+ even though I just want to save a list of my favorite metal videos on Youtube.

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  5. Mystic Megabyte
    FAIL

    Google groups

    Yesterday I checked to see if there were any GGs in the UK for a popular activity... there were none.

    I don't have a Facebook account so I'll have to rely on that old tech. telephone.

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  6. bailey86

    gplus is great!

    Thought I'd like to record a thanks for gplus. It means I can easily decide which circles see which posts, which means I can bore my family with pics of the kids, but save my friends from seeing them.

    Also, gplus seems to be the go to means for techies to share posts and discuss technology subjects. Being able to subscribe to a circle for, say, Drupal, JavaScript discussions is really useful.

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    1. vlbaindoor
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      Re: gplus is great!

      Gplus is great for those who can use it effectively.

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      1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge
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        Re: gplus is great!

        Gplus is great for those who can use it effectively.

        ... and have a use for it. I know of lots of things that are very good at achieving what they're designed to do; that doesn't mean having one would be "great for" me.

        But as usual, many fans of technology X seem to find it difficult to grasp the idea that not everyone wants technology X, regardless of how well it works.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: gplus is great!

      Love it too. It's far more engaging that Facebook, the quality of content is far higher, it's not got the rubbish 160 char limit of Twitter, or the plebs and constant adverts of Facebook,

      Google+ features all hang together in a sensible way and nothing feels like an afterthought,

      And like you say, the circle mentality is how people work in real life, so is a natual fit for how you would want a social network to work.

      That said, Google+ isn't really a social network like Facebook or Twitter. Anyone that thinks it is, has totally missed the point.

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      1. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        Re: gplus is great!

        You guys have actually made me give G+ another try..

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        1. htq
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          @ give G+ another try

          Try searching for subjects you're interested in then add a few people to your circle. Make comments and join in with discussions. You know, like in real life. Try posting something that interests you. Keep it up for a few weeks and see where you get.

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          1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge
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            Re: @ give G+ another try

            Try searching for subjects you're interested in then add a few people to your circle. Make comments and join in with discussions. You know, like in real life. Try posting something that interests you. Keep it up for a few weeks and see where you get.

            Usenet, without the lightweight protocol and interface?

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      2. Anonymous Coward
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        Anonymous Coward

        @AC - Re: gplus is great!

        Watch you mouth! The word "engaging" seems to close to marketing speak so that makes me doubt your sincerity.

        For a moment I was tempted to report your post as offensive.

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  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A different view

    After all the negative comments about G+, it is nice to see someone write something positive about it

    http://www.amandablain.com/google-plus-ghost-town/

    Out of my friends Facebook tends to be full of people wanting to send game invites and random comments on what they had for lunch. Where as Google Plus tends to be for more interesting posts and comments.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: A different view

      That's my experience of it too. Had a decent chat with Robert Llewellyn (from Red Dwarf and others programs) on G+, he always engages with people that engage with him. There are plenty of other smart people on there that have avoided the Facebook drivel and Twitter Celeb tweet paths.

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  8. monkeyfish

    The problem with G+

    I agree facebook is full of mostly drivel, but when signing up to G+ my wife found just 3 people she knew on there. We have mostly the same friends so I didn't bother. We check occasionally to see if anyone else turns up, but nope. It's unfortunate, as I think I prefer the interface. But most of the friends I want to communicate with on social media are uni types, since spread across the country, and only a handful of them are techies. Some of them even think facebook *is* the internet, and communicate in no other way :(

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    1. htq
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      Re: The problem with G+

      The problem is with user expectations. G+ is not the same as Fb. See my post about "What do you do at a party ?"

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    2. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The problem with G+

      "Some of them even think facebook *is* the internet"

      Can you buy gift subscriptions for Dignitas?

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    3. bailey86
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      Re: The problem with G+

      They've thought of that.

      You can add people to your circles just by their email address. That way they get sent a link to your post. You can configure the security in different ways as well.

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  9. htq

    What do you do at a party ?

    Facebook is like a family get together. I finally succumbed to opening a Fb account last year so I can sync Candy Crush progress on difference devices. Have kept away from the "family get together" because I know the kind of posts being made there.

    Google+ is like being at a party. You could stand in a corner trying to look cool/sad or you could go up to strangers and strike a conversation. When I first started on G+ many years ago, the first few months was like an echo chamber. I made public posts after public posts until one of my post caught the attention of someone in Southern California. They then added me to their circle. I then saw posts from their extended circles and strike up more connections. For some reason I have over 1500 people, from all reaches of the globe, following me but I only follow about 300.

    Like in real life if you don't have anything interesting to say or share then people won't be interested in listening.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What do you do at a party ?

      "Like in real life if you don't have anything interesting to say or share then people won't be interested in listening."

      Luckily the Reg forums were opened to cater for people like us.

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      1. htq
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        Re: What do you do at a party ?

        @Ledswinger : I've learnt a few things from the Reg forums...so...

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    2. M Gale
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      Re: What do you do at a party ?

      G+ is more like a rave busting into the warehouse up the street, then people claiming that the entire village is having a party.

      Do Not Want, and thanks to the continued attempts to try and herd me into it, Will Never Want.

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  10. Kristian Walsh Silver badge

    "It's so good I put my name on it..."

    Why are most of the pro-Google+ testimonials anonymous?

    I've described G+ as like going to a nightclub before 9pm: there's lots of space, but there's hardly anyone there, and they're all men.

    I had a G+ account, but none of my friends, bar one, uses (or even joined) the service. I've a lot of "techie" and "non-techie" friends, and not one of the latter group uses G+; it's just not attractive to them - whether it's the google brand, or (more likely) the fact that "everyone's on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram anyway". The one friend I have who regularly uses G+, I meet regularly enough that I don't need to see his G+ feed.

    ... So late last year I deleted ("downgraded" in Google-speak) my account.

    Just now, I logged into gMail, saw the "+ YourName" button there, and when I clicked it I found that my former G+ profile has been reinstated with all previous settings in place. Well it's certainly one way of boosting signups, I suppose...

    (I don't own an Android device, and have never posted on YouTube, so it's not that)

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    1. bailey86
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      Re: "It's so good I put my name on it..."

      You can add your friends using their email addresses.

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