Google can't cope with demand for Google+

Google has suspended current users sending out Google+ invites, saying it has generated "insane demand".Vic Gundotra, the chap leading Google's social network charge, posted on Google+ that the firm had shut down the invite function due to high demand. He said, "We've shut down [the] invite mechanism for the night. Insane demand. We need to do this carefully, and in a controlled way. Thank you all for your interest!"

Curiously Gundotra also said that those wanting to leave could do so and take their data with them. Gundotra wrote in the same post, "For any who wish to leave, please remember you can always exit and take your data with you by using Google Takeout. It's your data, your relationships, your identity." Perhaps that statement is an indication of where Google wants to position Google+, giving the user greater ownership over their data that they put onto Google's servers.

Given the anger Google generated when it pushed its Buzz social networking software onto users, it's not surprising that the firm has taken a softly-softly approach with Google+. Google also might be accurately aware that it needs a smooth launch of Google+ and that, while suspending sign-ups isn't perfect, it is far better than having the system fall over due to high demand.

Google as always maintains that Google+ is still in a beta stage, with the firm still ironing out the kinks. David Valentine, general manager of UK and Ireland at Microfocus, a company that does load testing for a number of high profile firms told The INQUIRER, "poor website responses are bad for publicity".

Valentine said that websites are getting ever more complex, making particular reference to Ajax, a set of technologies that Google+ makes heavy use of and require more accurate load testing. Valentine said that users expect a web page to respond within one second and that "if a user gets half way through a transaction and it fails it could lead to that person leaving an angry comment on Facebook".

Google seems to have played it safe, and rather than risk having negative publicity about its ability to provide reliable service it has chosen to suspend the expansion of its social network. It's a wise decision, as the wait simply generates more hype for the firm.

As for Google+ itself, given Google's position as the dominant web brand with an immensely popular search engine, email service, advertising brokerage, web analytics and provider of mobile operating systems, there is actually a chance that it could challenge Facebook. Curiously, due to all those services, Google gets only an incremental increase in the amount of personal data and preferences it has access to with Google+.

With Google already highlighting that data can be removed from its servers using Google Takeout, something that Facebook doesn't offer, this could push Facebook to become slightly more transparent about the way it handles and retains users' data.

source:theinquirer