Google Plus is Dead. Long Live the New Google Plus. Again.
Is Google Plus too big to fail?
On more than one occasion, since its launch in 2011, social media observers have predicted the network’s imminent demise. And on more than one occasion, parent company Google Inc. has refined and revamped the social networking service.
A couple weeks ago, the company unveiled another re-do. The new, and fully redesigned Google+ presents several substantial changes. This latest reimagining is simpler, easier to use, and mobile friendly.
The core concept of Google Plus—bringing together people who share common interests—is a natural connecting point for healthcare marketing. What’s more, Google Plus (or Google+) is too big to ignore.
The Google folks describe COMMUNITIES and COLLECTIONS as the two centerpieces of the new-and-improved service. The Official Blog says, “We're excited to announce the arrival of Google+ Communities, a new way for you to connect with other people around the things you're passionate about.”
While Communities is a gathering point for people to discuss common interest topics and ideas, Collections provides a new way to group and follow posts by specific, curated topics (looking a little like Pinterest).
The self-description says: “Every collection is a focused set of posts on a particular topic, providing an easy way for you to organize all the things you’re into. Each collection can be shared publicly, privately, or with a custom set of people. Once you create your first collection, your profile will display a new tab where other people can find and follow your collections.”
Neither Communities or Collections are new to Google+, but they have become the redesigned, central means to navigate and locate people and share info about topics and subjects. If Google+ is part of your hospital or practice marketing plan, this would be an excellent time to revisit your content (which is still there) and to evaluate how you can take advantages of the new Google Plus.
For a closer look at what’s new, see Discover Amazing Things… About Google plus.
