Google+ is the unloved soc net. But that may begin to shift, now that President Obama is using the platform’s Hangout feature for a virtual town hall, or “Fireside Hangout” this Thursday, just two day after his State of the Union address.
According to Google, selected participants will ask the President their own pre-screened questions starting Thursday at 4:50 p.m. EST.
BTW, President Obama’s Twitter feed, with nearly 27 million followers, reaches more people than all of the nightly news broadcasts combined and more than the total circulation of the 75 largest daily papers.
In other Google news, Nike has no plans to develop an Android companion application for their popular Nike+ FuelBand product.
“To deliver the best experience for all Nike+ FuelBand users, we are focusing on the FuelBand experience across iOS and nikeplus.com, where you can sync your activity, set new goals, and connect with friends,” Nike said in a statement. This despite a December report published by ComScore that puts Android out ahead at 53.4 percent of the smartphone operating system market, versus Apple’s 36.3 percent share.
Note: My (mostly unused) Goggle+ page
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m convinced the “popularity” of Google+ is being ridiculously hyped and could be one of the biggest social media myths this side of Second Life. The Hangouts feature is the only part I ever see anyone speak of favorably. Google is determined to jam this down everyone’s throats by integrating it with Gmail and their other offerings. So maybe we’ll all have to relent and use it, but not because we want to.
Maybe I’m channelling my inner BJ Mendelson here. But I just don’t buy it.