Ever since Google Plus was launched, in the summer of 2011, Google has, understandably, been a little tight-lipped about its uptake. There were the early release figures of 20 million users within a couple of weeks (Facebook took over two years to reach the same number and over three years to hit the 60 million mark, which was reached in January 2008) but since then not a whole lot of updates.
This has left the door wide open for Google Plus advocate, former Facebook app developer and serial entrepreneur, Paul Allen to step in and fill the gap. Paul uses a complex methodology which, being outside Google, offers some margin of error. His credibility on the subject, however, is pretty solid, particularly seeing how when Larry Page announced, on October 13, that Google Plus had reached the 40 million mark, Paul Allen’s predictions just a couple of weeks earlier had presaged it.
Paul now says Google Plus has over 60 million users with over 12 million signing up in the last month of the year which puts the daily sign-up figures at 625 thousand a day. To put this figure in perspective, when Facebook was making headlines in 2008 its daily sign ups were just reaching the 250k mark.
At this rate, and given Google’s continued integration of its services within the Google Plus functionality, Paul Allen expects the social network to reach the 400m mark by the end of next year. Such explosive growth not only sets new records but also shows the importance social media is now playing on the web.
If you do not yet have a Google Plus presence and are wondering whether you should and you are worried about the extra time you need to find and the extra work that is involved in promoting your business in it, my suggestion is to stop worrying and act now. Otherwise you will find yourself on the outside, looking in and wondering just why your online visibility is not what it should be and why customers can no longer find you.
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I’ve led the discussion on how social media and SEO are changing the processes we use to work and live, online, with the publication of my book ‘The Social Media Mind’. I combine experience in journalism and blue-chip corporate management with a penchant for explaining complex issues in simple terms. Contact me for media interviews, presentations and panel discussions
