[crbnw00ts]

I'm glad this is getting attention, however it occurred to me something important has been lost in the whole shuffle: the integration of Google+ and corporate Google Apps accounts.

Many companies pay for the corporate Google Apps service which provides email, calendar, chat, etc. The argument of "you're no longer the customer, you're the product" doesn't apply here, since ... well, you're paying for it. And yet, Google has insisted on integrating Google+ here as well. You can't even fire up your corporate chat which your company pays for without being harassed to create a Google+ account and create some "circles".

Not that long ago, I recommended to anyone who would listen that any small-to-medium sized business should use Google Apps for their email & calendar needs. It was a great service that met all the basic needs without getting the way. Today, I no longer make that recommendation. Instead I tell people to stay as far away from Google as possible, as they clearly cannot be trusted even when supposedly being paid for a premium service. This whole deal is going to be the downfall of Google.

[hga]

Indeed; when it became clear Google has completely lost all sense when it came to Google+ I did everything I could to minimize my exposure to them. The only "sticky" thing I touch is Google Groups for the obvious reason.

[Zigurd]

Agreed that's annoying. My Apps account now has a Google+ page. Now I feel obligated to populate it in case a potential client visits it and finds it defunct-looking.

I have books in print that have active communities around them. A generic company page could actually detract from social media discovery for my important pages. This is not a feature.