[kmeisthax]

The thing is, Google+ had a dedicated user base. It just wasn't the Facebook killer they thought it would be.

Same thing with Google Reader, too.

If you want to "take on Facebook or Twitter", you will fail. But if you just want to create a community of people, you absolutely can outcompete those companies in that niche, because Facebook and Twitter traded in quality for scale.

[UncleOxidant]

> The thing is, Google+ had a dedicated user base.

Indeed. I really preferred Google+ to any of it's competitors. The circles idea just makes a lot of sense. Most other social media ignores the fact that people in your social circles might have different interests. People interested in programming languages might not be interested in baking and vice versa. Why spam all baking followers with your latest programming language realization?

[afpx]

Google+ had a big user base of tech people talking to other tech people. Facebook had the college crowd, and they got their families to join. Twitter isn't all that big, but they got the brands on board.