Google+, according to many, never made it as a serious contender to Facebook simply because it was launched way after Facebook took over our lives. Four years after being launched to generally positive reception, Google+ links have suddenly disappeared from Google’s US homepage, leading many to question whether it is on its way towards extinction.
Assurance that Google+ has “got more signs of life than it’s had in some time” has come from Bradley Horowitz, Vice-President of Google Photos and Streams, in an interview given to Steven Levy of Medium. According to Horowitz, the links have been taken off because Google+ is in the middle of a major makeover. Previously, Google+ was accessible by clicking on the +[your name] link on Google’s home page or Gmail. Now, if an American user wants to log in to Google+, they need to click on the grid of squares on the homepage and choose from a drop-down apps list.
The sudden disappearance, as explained by Horowitz, is because Google+ is being revamped based on user feedback. Collections, for instance, is a new feature added to Google+ very recently that allows users to collectively share thoughts on a pertinent topic without any word count limitation.
While more details were not revealed, it was promised that Google+ is definitely “not dead”. We’d suggest a “wait and see” approach.
Source: The Verge