Great article, found it very interesting. While I'm with you on your reservations about Google+ adding value, here's where I'm stuck... 1) Is Google+ impacting search results and user action? 2) If yes, what do we do about it? The validity of Google's decision doesn't change whether it is or isn't impacting search. From my understanding, anyone who has signed up for Google+ (90 million) will experience the Your World results, regardless of if they are active. If 90 million people are potentially having their search impacted, the next question is how can we potentially leverage or respond to that, and if the allocation of resources is worth it to do so. I think this last part is a very valid argument, as you could argue that the effort needed to foster engagement on Google+ wouldn't pay a high enough return, since the potential reach is limited, and current user activity is so low it would require a high investment up front. We may or may not like Google+, but if our jobs involve search, it's much less about personal preference and more about the potential impact Google's decisions - valid or not - could have on our ability to connect our content to our potential customer/audience/community, etc.
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