Perhaps, it would be a bit too harsh to describe what is happening to Google+ as an identity crisis, but the truth is that not many of us are not sure what Google is up to. We were recently told that the social network’s photo component was going to get merged into a standalone project; perhaps we are too hasty and a bit cynical in our judgement.
Report from DroidLife claims that Google is adding a new feature it called Collections, which is coming to Google+. The report cited a source but did add that the information available to is limited at least at the moment. The new feature wants users to create “collections” of their interests, which makes it sound a lot like “Pinterest meets a blogging platform.”
The new feature according to DroidLife, will let users create collections of photos, links, and videos or follow other users’ collections; and will be available on mobile and the web when it is finally launched by Google. It also added that Google suggests to the early users of Collections that these are themed channels of content, which could focus on anything from “Salsa in San Diego to Paragliding.”
Though, details are a bit sketchy at the moment, DroidLife seems so sure of its source that it was able to backup its claim with a screenshot. Google+ does need a fixing as other social networks including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest appear to have stolen a match on it and seems to be miles apart in terms of features and user-base. With an estimated user-base of between 4 million and 6 million on its network (not official); Google+ has a lot of grounds to cover if it wants to remain relevant.
While Google is unlikely to abandon Google+ due to its low user-base, much work still needs to be done to keep its social network competitive. The service offers useful ways of giving every Gmail and YouTube user identity on the Web, despite not attracting the kind of attention other major platforms are getting at the moment.
Though, no official word yet from Google as the feature is still in some kind of private beta at the moment; but we are sure this might not be the last we hear of this as events start unfolding in coming days.
At the moment, it is not known how making Google+ a bit like Pinterest and a blog would appeal to users.
