Google+

An earlier social networking site from Google, introduced in 2011. In 2015, the chat, video calling and photos services in Google+ were separated out (see Google Hangouts and Google Photos).

Although Google+ never achieved Facebook's market share, users ranked it favorably. In 2018, Google announced the end of Google+ because of a data vulnerability discovered that year exposing the data of a half million users. However, it was not known if any data were actually breached. Google+ was replaced with Google Currents for Google Workspace users only and not for personal accounts (see Google Currents).

Circles
Friends and families were stored in Circles, which displayed as circular icons on screen. In order to better engineer privacy and who sees what, all posts, photos and invitations were shared by dragging them into the appropriate Circle, which remembered the last selection. Friends, Acquaintances, Family and Following (whom you follow) were the defaults, but any Circle could be created. See Google+ Ripples, Google+ Sparks and Google.

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All users' Google+ content will be deleted on April 2 (except for Google notes - content that must be kept for legal reasons), including photos and videos on Google+ and Google+ pages.

Google+ user data to be deleted by April 2

Google+ Community owner or moderator have an option to download and save data for your the community.

Google releases timeline for Google+ shutdown

Google created Google+ in 2011, at a time when the Web was becoming increasingly social.

Analysis: The Google+ bug is more than just a punchline

In the past, companies that wanted to create a business page (called a brand page) on Google+ could do so.

Introducing google my business: here is what every bank marketer needs to know about this new platform for managing your information on google and google places. This enhanced system will enable you to connect better with your prospects and customers

When shared on Google+, each file carries with it the access settings their owner gave it on Drive.

Google Drive files can now be shared via Google+

Minor changes aside, our data suggests that in the short term, this phase of the migration to Google+ Local pages is more of a rebrand for Google Places than an overhaul of the way in which it operates and ranks businesses.

What every franchise should know about Google+ local pages: since it's estimated that one in four searches on the Internet are "local searches," Google+ is suddenly a big deal for franchise organizations

Google has recently split its Google+ service in Photos and Streams.

Google Drive now gives access to your Google+ photos

"You can now filter your Google+ search results to only show photo posts.

Filter Google+ search results to show photo-only posts

To sum it up, Google wasn't able to get ad money from Reader and wanted users to share content on Google+. And thus, Reader go the boot.

Google Reader Axe: Why it's a buzz kill and how the world is reacting