UPDATE: It's really dead this time.
The old adage, “All good things must come to an end,” works especially well for Google+. Google Plus was a great thing, and it died an unceremonious death.
But it has arisen.
Yes, Google+ may have died, or faded away, in its previous existence, but it is back (with a vengeance?). And here's a great guide at getting the most out of the new Google Plus.
How to Use [the New] Google+: Tutorial
Ana Hoffman, of Traffic Generation Cafe, wrote this tutorial. I encourage you to read it so that you can get up to speed on the new Google Plus.
A lot has changed. Google has stripped a lot of stuff out of Plus, but they're focusing now on what made Google Plus great, and according to Ana:
The new Google+ is all about connecting around common interests (Collections and Communities) rather than people (Circles).
Frankly, I loved Circles. And I never really got into Communities. But I will say this: There are some awfully passionate people on Plus. I got far more engagement on some posts on Google+ versus Facebook. The tech crowd is a lot more fun over here at Google…
Here's what the Google guys have to say about the shift away from people and things to collections and communities –
In short,
Today we’re taking a big step toward making Google+ an even better place for your interests. To do so, we’ve drastically simplified nearly every aspect of the product. You’ll see this clearly in our new navigation centered around Collections and Communities.
In any event, give Ana's Google+ Tutorial a read. It's good stuff. I like one-stop resource guides!
I repeat, Google Plus is really dead this time. RIP, old buddy.
Bill,
It remains to be seen what ultimately becomes of my beloved G+. You’re right about the passionate user base, though. I’ve seen especially high engagement in the health / fitness and marketing arenas. I’m talking actual marketing, involving brand and agency marketers, not the “IM crowd” (not that some of those individuals can’t market) We shall see how it goes moving forward. I’ve started building out some of my own and customers’ collections. I’ve already had generally excellent results using communities. Hopefully that doesn’t change moving forward. I seems Google sometimes doesn’t have a clear picture their goals or how to reach them.
Thanks,
Steve
Thanks for the feedback, Steve. I’ve seen really good engagement in the two areas you mentions, plus tech (I mean REALLY good there). I agree about Google and its goals. They seem a bit ADHD. Time will tell. They’ve killed a lot of promising projects.