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# Different Platform Purposes and Google+
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/different-platform-purposes-and-google/
- Published: 2012-04-03T10:50:29.000Z
- Updated: 2025-09-10T13:37:49.000Z
- Description: Consumers use different platforms for different purposes.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Platforms, Frenemies, Google, The Age of the Platform

Is Google+ its most successful attempt at building a social plank in its platform?

Without question, the answer is *yes*.

Orkut, Wave, and Buzz didn't grab the mindshare that Plus has.

Paradoxically, that still doesn't mean that I use Plus very often. I'd also bet that a plurality of Google+ users don't really use it on a regular basis. The curiosity has worn off. Yes, hangouts are cool, but Plus hasn't supplanted Facebook or Twitter as a major social hub.

*And this isn't a bad thing.*

In the Age of the Platform, consumers use different platforms for different purposes. While the benefits of platforms include one-stop shopping, at the same time we like best-of-breed tools. Unless and until one of the Gang of Four drops the ball in a big way, expect tens of millions of people to concurrently use the planks of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google.