Hacker News Reader

Comment by hugs | Hacker News Reader

Also noteworthy that Google+ didn't even get a mention, even if to mock it.

Are there people who actively use G+? To me it seems to have turned into this weird thing that tries to offer a lot of functionality but doesn't really make it clear what it actually is. It was supposed to be a social network and now it's Google's "social layer" - whatever that may mean. I personally don't even know anyone who would describe G+ as relevant.

G+ is where you go to talk with people who work at Google, and people who know a lot of people who work at Google.

This actually makes it relevant for me, but sure, it's not relevant for most people.

The Linux community uses it heavily.

I think "social layer" means it's supposed to be integrated into every Google service. Google wanted everything they offered to be a single unified G+ experience that would dwarf Facebook. Which of course worked out brilliantly for them, especially on Youtube.

The only reason why I "use" G+ is for photos - and that's only because Google got rid of all the Picasa albums. But the interface is so horrible I can't believe it's actually made by google. Once you got to photos it opens the most recent album by default(why??) and the option to switch to albums view is not where you would expect it(on the 3-stripe option icon that every other product got us used to), but instead it's hidden away. It makes absolutely no sense and I hate using it as a product. The only reason why I have to visit it occasionally is that Picassa(the actual tool) is fantastic for backing up and managing pictures.

I remember reading something similar from a Korean kid 10 years ago, she said "email is for older people". I wonder if this kid uses email? The only time I see something Google+ related is occasional notifications on my gmail interface.

It's 50/50 that I even have my friends email addresses. Facebook messaging covers 99% of the need.

But, don't you need an email address to sign up to these sites in the first place?

Some allow you to register with an SMS token and some with an FB account.

Yes, but that doesn't mean one has shared that email address with one's friends or vice versa.

People have email addresses to sign up. Once signed up, the social connections are made on the platform.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com