However the latter feature may not arrive on Google's social network for quite a while. The company needs time to figure out how users can don their nicknames and handles without "dramatically changing the atmosphere" of Google+.
On the Google Apps for business front, previously there has been no way for users to access Google+ using their account. Google hasn't already integrated Google Apps into the social website because the company “thought it would have more time” before Google+ grew to the point where integration was actually needed.
That said, the sudden success has pushed Google into scaling the social network rather quickly to make sure it will work for all of its users -- including adding Google Apps support.
During the Web 2.0 Summit, Gundotra also talked about how developers have clamored for Google+ APIs. To put it simply, Google Reader is a mess.
Google has announced that Reader will be introducing a brand-new design following some "some highly requested changes." So say goodbye to friending, following, and shared link blogs inside of Google Reader. Instead, Reader will be receiving social features courtesy of Google+. However, Google will allow users to export old data, consisting of subscriptions, shared items, friends, likes, and starred items.
If all goes well, Google Reader might become relevant again. Google on Thursday said that it will be revamping the Google Reader interface in the coming weeks and tying it more closely to its Google+ social network.
Google didn't post screen shots of the updated RSS reader, but Alan Green, a Google software engineer, said in blog post that the changes will be similar to those made to Google's search and Gmail pages over the summer. Google will also "bring Reader and Google+ closer together, so you can share the best of your feeds with just the right circles," Green wrote.
As a result, Google will retire options like friending, following, and shared link blogs inside of Reader. Instead, Green said users can now start "prepping Reader-specific circles" in Google+.
At yesterday's Web 2.0 conference, Google execs Sergey Brin and Vic Gundotra confirmed that Google+ now has 40 million users who have uploaded more than 3.4 billion photos to the service.
Upcoming features include pseudonyms, after users complained about being forced to use real names, as well as a link to Google Apps. Last week, Google said it would kill its troubled Buzz social feature in order to focus on Google+. For more, see PCMag's full review of Google+ and the slideshow below, as well as our reviews of the Google+ app for iPhone and Android, and hands on with the Google+ App for iPad.
Google+ is far from dead, say many in the trenches who are finding the Google social network a platform with a lot of potential. Mark Davis said Google+ is becoming his platform for professional networking while Facebook remains the place where he networks socially.
IT consultant David G. Osayidan said Google+ is on the right track but he has been frustrated by a lack of integration with other Google services.
Osayidan noted that he has been using Google+ with a "dummy" account because his primary Google account is with Google Apps. He said he has been "frustrated and a bit shocked" that he pays for Google services and cannot use them with Google+.
Currently, there is no way to integrate a professional Google Apps account with the Google+ service, although Google senior VP of engineering Vic Gundotra announced Wednesday at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco that support for Google App account users will be added within days. Many say they love the idea of a Google social network but just can't get past what Google+ doesn't have right now or won't let them do.
CentiMark senior VP and CIO Greg Wilson describes himself as a very casual Google+ user. He concedes that Facebook and LinkedIn have critical mass and that Google+ currently is not offering anything compelling to change that, but he sees a great deal of potential in the integration possibilities within Google's ecosystem of services.
"For example, Hangouts, inside Google+, combined with the sharing capability of Google Docs could create a pretty compelling virtual team environment that would be difficult for the other major social networking tools [to] emulate. Elizabeth McCarthy, a Google Apps for Education certified trainer and technology integration specialist, also sees the potential for Google+ in education and has tried to implement its use in an online class.
However, count her as another frustrated user--this time by Google+'s age requirements.
"I use [Google+], but not to the extent I'd hoped," she said. I'd love for Google to see this as an online learning platform, but will have to wait and see what happens to Google+."
"Google+ isn't dead, not even close really," said Burke.
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