It was only a short while ago that I opened up my G+ for the two websites and was greeted by this message “Google+ is no longer available for consumer (personal) and brand accounts. From all of us on the Google+ team, thank you for making Google+ such a special place”. I’ve used this service since its launch and the notice continued with the text you can see down below. If you were a user you probably already have seen it but this is for the rest of us.
What happened to Google+?
In December 2018, we announced our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019.
Other Google products (such as Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive, YouTube) were not shut down as part of the consumer Google+ shutdown and you can continue using those products. The Google Account you use to sign in to these services will remain. Note that photos and videos already backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted. Learn more.
What happened to my Google+ content?
We are in the process of deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts and Google+ pages. This process will take a few months to complete, and content may remain through this time. In the meantime, if you previously created content on Google+, you may be able to download and save your remaining Google+ content and delete your Google+ profile. You may also be able to view and delete your remaining Google+ activity.
If I also use Google+ with my G Suite account, for example at work or school, how will I be impacted?
Google+ for G Suite will continue as a way for people across an organization to have discussions. Learn more about how we’re continuing our investment in Google+ for G Suite.
If you’re not sure if your organization uses G Suite, you can check here. G Suite customers may see some changes to Google+ features related to the consumer Google+ shutdown. You can find more details here or you can talk to your G Suite administrator to learn more.
See the full FAQ for more details about the consumer Google+ shutdown.
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Piercing Ken Thoughts: According to my statistics based on the backup of the account for my personal space of “Kenny Pierce” and the one for PiercingMetal which was labeled “PiercingMetalNYC”, I made “419” posts on G+ for KP and “1547” for PM. A colleague in media was adamant that I save the profiles just in case there was something in them that I might need but truth be told this social network was ALWAYS just a conduit to the content on https://www.piercingken.com and https://www.piercingmetal.com and nothing more. As a matter of fact, I would past my site links to the two profiles (when I remembered at least) until the means of having more official Pages like the two we often use in Facebook. Once those were in place, the posts went there and were shared down to the personal profiles. I never saw the two branded pages getting many subscribers or followers despite their being a nice bit of traffic to both domains care of Google+. That being said I will miss having a couple of thousand references out there on the web that point to my creative thinking and as I close up this brief alert I wonder what can possibly come out next that will be beneficial and have some impact. Facebook is impossible to get a leg up on unless you pay them and while this site uses Twitter and Instagram, its only PiercingMetal.com that employs both Tumblr and LinkedIn in addition to those. Ciao for now and oh before I forget this important to do item – Make sure that your mobile device (if an Android) is up to date on its apps and then uninstall the Google+ app. It used to be embedded in the Android OS but the recent updates have made it removable. Since its a direct connection to the Net and Google that has been abandoned, you don’t want it open to what might be out there on your mobile. Give it the zap and do the same to Vero True Social if you tried that since it was hot garbage.
Official Website: https://www.google.com