Back in December I shared the news about the Google+ Social Network going away and added some editorial notations to the facts because we’ve been using the service for both PiercingMetal.com and this website that you are reading right now. If you missed that posting it’s not a problem since you can check it out by clicking HERE. Just a short while ago, I received an email based on my being a user and I’ve culled it all together for you just in case you also use the network and this message to you went to spam. Dig in, and know that I will close with more editorial afterwards.
The Message:
You’ve received this email because you have a consumer (personal) Google+ account or you manage a Google+ page.
In December 2018, we announced our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations. We want to thank you for being part of Google+ and provide next steps, including how to download your photos and other content.
On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted.
The process of deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts, Google+ Pages, and Album Archive will take a few months, and content may remain through this time. For example, users may still see parts of their Google+ account via activity log and some consumer Google+ content may remain visible to G Suite users until consumer Google+ is deleted.
As early as February 4th, you will no longer be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events.
See the full FAQ for more details and updates leading up to the shutdown.
If you’re a Google+ Community owner or moderator, you may download and save your data for your Google+ Community. Starting early March 2019, additional data will be available for download, including author, body, and photos for every community post in a public community.
Learn more
If you sign in to sites and apps using the Google+ Sign-in button, these buttons will stop working in the coming weeks but in some cases may be replaced by a Google Sign-in button. You’ll still be able to sign in with your Google Account wherever you see Google Sign-in buttons. Learn more
If you’ve used Google+ for comments on your own or other sites, this feature will be removed from Blogger by February 4th and other sites by March 7th. All your Google+ comments on all sites will be deleted starting April 2, 2019. Learn more
If you’re a G Suite customer, Google+ for your G Suite account should remain active. Contact your G Suite administrator for more details. You can also expect a new look and new features soon. Learn more
If you’re a developer using Google+ APIs or Google+ Sign-in, click HERE to see how this will impact you.
From all of us on the Google+ team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place. We are grateful for the talented group of artists, community builders, and thought leaders who made Google+ their home. It would not have been the same without your passion and dedication.
*** end of message ***
Piercing Ken Thoughts: So before I get much into my closing editorial thoughts let me address this part of the opening in the email “challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers’ expectations” – I call bulls**t on that, and raise a how about you protect the user information from ill intended scoundrels of the Internet. Their failure to be on point jeopardized something like 53 million accounts according to the big deal technical websites that are out there and it was unnecessary. They are Google and they constantly remind us how they are in charge of stuff so they should have kept a better lock on the door for their users. That being said I am going to miss having the Google+ network to share my posts for those who are choosing to follow me on the network. I had about 1K connected to me on my personal email account and there are closer to 2K for the account connected to the PiercingMetal.com website. Of course the Official Pages for each of the sites never really took off like they were hoped to but at this point it doesn’t matter balking about it. I made sure that anyone who connected to me on either account saw what we were posted by sharing to the Page from WordPress and then sharing that post on Google+ down to the personal account feed. Sure it was a little more work but what the hell. I have to flip a coin as to whether I will terminate and delete my profiles before the cutoff date or just ride it out and let them delete me on their own. Hopefully, any of you Google+ Followers will consider following my profiles on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. All are linked to on the About Page. That’s all I have about this matter. What do you think about the countdown to the demise of Google+? It could have been, no, scratch that, it SHOULD have been a contender. Comment down below if you like but don’t use Google+ to do it since they will delete those too 🙂
Official Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google%2B