Last year, Google announced that they were closing down their Google Plus social network. For a lot of people, this didn’t affect them. If you asked people about it, they probably didn’t know it even existed. Other people may have tried it out and declared it a ghost town and quickly moved back to Facebook. However, for some of us who did (and still do) use it, the loss of Google Plus is hitting us where it hurts. Google has started shutting things down this week, and it’s been my “home” on the internet since 2012. I’m finding myself feeling like I don’t have a place anymore.
When I first started blogging, there weren’t very many options. My first blog was just me updating the main page of my very basic website that was hosted on a local BBS in 1996. I bought my first domain name in 1999 and did the same thing. Later, I moved on to Livejournal as an early adopter, and stayed there for quite some time. I loved the format. You could follow people and read whatever they posted without them needing to follow you, the community was open and active and friendly. It was easy to people with similar interests. People would leave comments on anything you posted. I made loads of friends on LJ, a lot of whom I still follow on social media. Fuck, I met my husband there, and our best man was another user who was a mutual friend.
As blogging and social media evolved, we moved on to self-hosted options for our blogs. I cross-posted blog entries to LJ and kept up with friends there, eventually following them on Twitter and Facebook, while making more friends in the ever widening blogosphere. We met up with local bloggers for hikes, movies, and even a wedding. When we renewed our vows in Vegas eight years later, we were surrounded by friends we’d made on Livejournal ten years earlier as well as people from a running forum I was a member of.
Unfortunately, the people we started blogging with stopped, moving on. Most switched to easier things that didn’t make us feel like we needed to make an entire post, and the world of posts transitioned to status updates. Livejournal was a shell of what it was when we all started there, filled with spam and drama. Twitter was almost a substitute, but at 140 characters, just wasn’t the same. Facebook tried, but felt too big to me.
Then came Google+. I immediately loved it. I started there from beta, and never left. Again, the community was smaller. People promoted following others, sharing their circles with other users. Like Livejournal, I felt like people actually interacted with other users. It seemed like you could find more users who actually had things to say, posts that I wanted to read instead of status updates about what we were eating or wearing.
Years ago, I read a comment from a user defending Google Plus from comparisons to Facebook. One user made a comment about G+’s ghost town status, how no one that they knew actually used it. Everyone they know is on Facebook. Why would anyone use a social media site that no one they knew was using? It didn’t make sense, they said.
“Facebook is for people you know,” another user commented. “Google Plus is for people you want to know.”
That perfectly describes Google Plus to me. I’ve made friends, more friends than I’ve ever made on Facebook. My Facebook feed is family, half of whom I might see twice a year, a few coworkers, and some people from Livejournal and that running forum. Everyone shares and reshares the same articles and animal videos, with very few actual posts with content. On the Plus, my feed is filled with people who write and show off their creations, sharing each other’s milestones and achievements and posts. We interact over there.
I’m going to really miss Google Plus. I was there at the beginning. I was in some of those 24 hour hangouts where Ravi would ask people if they had a wardrobe in their house. There was Dan, who inspired me to buy my own ukulele, and taught Dave in Ireland how to shotgun a beer. Steph started a campaign to bring George Takaei to G+, later marrying Jon, who we all met in one of those random hangouts.
I’m going to miss the people of Google Plus. People like Aaron, who essentially bankrolled the beginning of my custom My Little Pony business when my “portfolio” at the time was only three very amateurish customs, and so many of you Bronies ordered things that pushed my skills to the limit in every aspect. Bill gifted me a Kindle and an all-access pass to his library of ebooks, I got Christmas gifts (and dinner and a show!) from Richard and Chuck. Countless chats and comments and real discussion.
Most of all, I’m going to really miss those of you who were there for me. You watched me shrink to half my size, and offered opinions on counted haircuts and colors. When my marriage imploded – not once but twice – you stood by and comforted me, offering your advice when I needed it. You treated us to a Christmas dinner on a very difficult holiday. When I was worried about losing my house, you banded together and raised enough money for me to survive a month without the added stress of wondering which bills I could afford to fill. You’re all wonderful.
So, goodbye, Google Plus. You’ll be forever in my heart as my social media home. I love you all ❤️
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