Last year, Google launched the beta of Currents, which was essentially a rebrand of Google+ for G Suite users, since Google+ for consumers went to meet its maker in April 2019. While Googleplus was meant to be an all-purpose social network, the idea behind Currents is more akin to what Microsoft is doing with Yammer or Facebook with Workplace. It’s meant to give employees a forum for internal discussions and announcements.
To complicate matters, Google kept Googleplus around, even after the launch of Currents, but in an email to G Suite admins, it has now announced that Googleplus for G Suite will close its doors on July 6, after which there will be no way to opt out of Currents or revert back to Google+.
And with that, Google has driven the final nail into Googleplus’s coffin. The Googleplus mobile apps will be automatically updated to Currents. All existing links to Googleplus will redirect to Currents.
Going forward, Googleplus will only live on as a hazy memory, filled with circles of friends, all of which were forced to use their real name (at least at the beginning), +1 buttons everywhere, sparks and the promise of fun games, ripples and more.
Currents is all business — and while I’m not aware of a lot of companies that use it, it looks to be a solid option for companies that would otherwise use the Yammer/Teams combination in the Microsoft ecosystem. Now, I guess, we can start the countdown before Google launches another social network.
