[Daniel14]

I can't help but feel like they really want this to succeed, and are betting the entire company on it. From what I've heard, Google+ has to potential to turn out huge. And making sure there aren't any bugs before letting everybody in is simply a must for them - They just can't afford to have any problems with this last attempt at social.

I also think the hype you're talking about only happens in a very small group of geeks. The average guy on the street still hasn't heard of Google+, and until he has and is willing to try it out, Google will lose the social war. Convincing the fb masses to bother is an extremely difficult task, and Google will need all the hype it can get. Right know, I think they're doing exactly the right thing.

[jrockway]

are betting the entire company on it

So you're saying that if people don't like Google Plus, they are going to stop clicking AdWords, move their email to Hotmail, and start using Yahoo for search? That seems very unlikely to me.

This is just a regular product launch. It gets a lot of hype because people like their friends but hate Facebook.

[rogercosseboom]

I think what the comment was referring to was that, in Google's view, the social market is becoming more and more important to the greater internet community. Not having a viable product in this space could cost Google dearly later– specifically in those areas you sarcastically mentioned.

[Daniel14]

> This is just a regular product launch.

My point was that Google is putting a lot of effort into competing with Facebook, and that they're willing to use all their other products to succeed with Plus. Think about their bonuses being tied to social, Larry Page as the new CEO, the +1 button in the search results, the renaming of Blogger and Picasa, the redesign of Calender, Gmail etc., the new notification bar accross all Google sites... These aren't just regular product updates, but show how serious Google really is about getting into social, ie keeping facebook at bay.

[rnernento]

The problem is Google is at a bit of a disadvantage vs Facebook. Facebook taught us exclusivity is a good thing but by expanding to entire schools at a time they were able to guarantee new users had other in-network friends with Facebook available to them. With + users are relying on people they know to be available to keep the product interesting... A bunch of random people trickling in doesn't necessarily translate to a positive user experience.

[r00fus]

> are betting the entire company on it

At least the bonus structure for employees is tied to meeting the company goals on social: http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/08/larry-page-google-reorg/

So yes, Page has spun the ship's wheel... expect the boat to turn sharply.