When Google+ launched a few months ago, I got in relatively quickly and liked what I saw. I believed the social network would make a great challenger to the likes of Facebook and Twitter, mainly because of Google’s enormous existing audience (I still do, provided the company plays its cards right).
It’s now been a while since I’ve last visited or posted anything on Google+, but I figured that was just me.
Turns out I might not be the only one after all, 89n now says, based on some quick-and-dirty internal ManageFlitter data research.
According to its data, the average number of public – i.e. not private – Google+ posts per day has decreased from 0.68 per day between 19 July 2011 and 19 August 2011 to 0.40 public posts per day between 19 August 2011 and 14 September 2011.
This represents a decrease of 41 percent, which could lead one to believe the early adopters are quietly turning their backs on Google+. (Someone inform Scoble!)
Note that this perceived behavior occurs despite the recent roll-out of enhanced Google +1 button functionality, a Twitter-like ‘suggested user’ list and verified profiles.
89n says 7,280 people have linked their Google+ accounts to Twitter using its ManageFlitter service to date. The company says it checks these accounts for new public posts every 10 minutes.
Now, 89n isn’t exactly a research firm, and they offer little insight into their methodology for gathering and interpreting the data. I asked them to clarify, but in the meantime, how many of you have tried Google+ early on and find themselves not returning to post as much as in the beginning?
Update: yes, I know the data doesn’t cover private posting, which for all I know is up significantly. Nobody’s saying Google+ is dead, I’m simply asking if you find it to be true that public posting is declining, which 89n’s data suggests. Relax a little :)
Comment