UPDATED 07:31 EDT / OCTOBER 21 2011

NEWS

Coming Really Soon: Pseudonyms and Branding Pages in Google+

Google+ is on a roll with updates here and there. For a time I thought they had raised the white flag and succumbed to dominating Facebook and Twitter. Little did we know that Google’s bet for social networking kingship was just gathering resources to fuel new features and update policies. Now, Google+ has just announced that they are loosening some bolts to allow the use of pseudonyms and branding pages. Is this a reason to be happy about or another magnet for fakers?

VP of Product Management for Google+ Bradley Horowitz noted how they want certain policies to be closely imposed and monitored. But also reiterated that, “We have always intended to support [pseudonyms].”

Business models within the social platform are inevitably interweaving. Facebook and Twitter tagging and Timeline are just two classic manifestation of mingling features. Nearly a month ago, Google+ has tried copying Facebook’s rule on using real names and has been strict in implementing this, as violators got kicked out of the community. However, it is interesting to note that Facebook has not been very successful in executing this idea—why? My friend “I am Beautiful” is still a member and has just commented in my latest wall post. For avid users, this is almost a non-issue.

It is also quite interesting to note that Google and Google+ were in disagreement on this avenue. Tom Foremski of SiliconANGLE.com, in his August article, cites how Google refuses Korean real-names policy while it is being imposed on G+ users. This conflict will soon come to the end as G+ okays pseudonyms. In a somewhat weird social context, not disclosing who you really are, in this case using real names, empower people to “socialize” by means of commenting, tagging and sharing experiences within various platforms. Google+ is also opening its doors for marketing brands.

With Google+ consenting the use of pseudonyms and anonymity, they lose their goal of being a canonical web directory. This means, in the next few days or weeks, there is no excuse to act surprised when hundreds of Justin Bierbers emerge in Google+.


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