Google+ ended as a social media platform in April 2019 and it is no longer accessible as a consumer social media platform. However, the structure and coding still exists within Google. Alphabet has agreed that Google+ will continue as “Google Currents” (which is the Google+ code base). However, the platform will have an enterprise focus. The relaunched Google+/Currents will be available for business use.
According to Google: “Currents is a G Suite app that enables people to have meaningful discussions and interactions across your organization, helping keep everyone in the know and giving leaders the opportunity to connect with their employees.” The new service will begin first as a beta version.
An interesting aspect of this is that where Google+ was partly defeated in the social media stakes by Facebook, in the re-configurated form Google+ will continue to compete with Facebook, albeit against the enterprise version of Facebook, which is called “Workplace.” Given the nature of the nature of the service, Google+ will also be up against Microsoft’s Yammer.
In terms of functionality, Google Currents will retain many social media features, such as when an employee posts something, others within the enterprise will be able to comment, provide feedback, and pose questions – all in the same digital place. It will also be possible for users to track analytics for their posts. In addition, posts from company leaders can be prioritized and tag functionality will be in place to show individuals the most relevant posts for them at any time.
Businesses will also be able to associate their account with Google Analytics in order to assess content preferences, device use and geographic distribution.
