OK, so you finally set up your profile on Google+. Now, one of your first questions usually has to do with what appears to be the lack of interaction from other Plussers.
There are a number of reasons people do not interact with others on Google+. Most of the more popular reasons I have been given have to do with not knowing how to use G+. However, there are a few that are the result of how Google+ is being used.
Let’s take a look at the two big reasons why there seems to be lack of interaction on Google+.
Don’t Want To Get Involved
The first one has to do with human nature. People are not interested in interacting on controversial topics or issues that cannot be answered through social media.
It is not the fear of debating people have or a fear of someone going off on them for their comments. What the concern is has to do with how Google manages comments to a post. Each time a comment is made to a post you have made comment to, or posted a 1+, you get a notification. Sometimes, depending on how you have your Google+ account set up, these notifications can be sent as an email.
To avoid getting them you have to mute the post from your stream. Now people just say..why bother, and do not interact.
Most people do not want to be bothered with comments made days after the posts. So, to keep from getting the notifications they avoid commenting.
To some people this makes G+ appear to be a Ghost town.
Don’t Want To Be Sold Something
The second reason for people not interacting has to do with the fear of being spammed or being pitched on a product they are not interested in.
Many times some businesses on Google+ will slip back into their old spammer suit and make a post in hopes someone will interact so they can place that person in a private circle. Then several times a day send out to everyone in that circle a notification asking people to like their Facebook or 1+ them. Or worst, to buy something.
So, naturally once someone has dealt with either of these situations they are reluctant to interact with anyone. This is a shame and with the depth of awesome engineers Google has working on G+ you would think there would probably be a better way to go about interacting with people in a managed manner.
Nonetheless, Google+ still has a much more controlled environment for it’s users. It is just a shame more people have chosen to interact in private than in a public circle. If you are one of these people I sure hope you let me know how I can help.
