Is Google Pushing Plus Too Hard?
February 3, 2012
From the desperation marketing department:
With tongue firmly in cheek, VentureBeat declares, “This Post on Google+ Statistics is a Billion* Times Better than Any Other Post.” Writer Rocky Agrawal can be excused for resorting to sarcasm, for he is righteously angry at Google and other companies who distort the facts to mislead.
Last week, Google CEO Larry Page played up the numbers for Google+. He said the social network has reached 90 million registered users, among other claims. To take that example, Agrawal is right to say Page’s boasting is deceptive; the number includes all those who registered and tried the service a few times, never to return.
The article contains several more examples of Googley distortion, but Agrawal knows that company is not the only one mutilating statistics. He writes:
Using deceiving numbers leads to a race to the bottom where companies use [worse and worse] numbers to look more and more impressive. Companies that want to be forthright can’t — otherwise they look weak and unsuccessful. That’s bad for the startup ecosystem. It also keeps companies focused on vanity metrics to impress the press. That’s largely irrelevant. Startups should spend their time building great products that people want to use, not just sign up for.
He’s right, but good luck enforcing the concept. It’s up to the rest of us to take corporate statements with a grain of salt. Is Google pushing a little to enthusiastically its social service? Interesting question. We think about Google as search and advertising, not social and advertising.
Cynthia Murrell, February 3, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com
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