Maybe Google+’s trickle of invites is a wise and calculated move

6 Replies

Friends, HNers, and redditors alike are still complaining that they have yet to be invited to Google+. Initially I thought that Google+ being invite-only was a folly on Google’s part; some silly thing that they didn’t work out beforehand that could be a large blow in its infancy.

But after several days of having Google+ I realized something: Every single day since I’ve had it I have gotten at least some new Google+ notifications, as 4 or 5 more people add me per day.

In other words, a day has yet to go by where Google+ has not reminded me of its existence. A day has yet to go by where I have not wandered over to Goole+ to see whats up with the newcomers.

Instead of signing up, looking around to see what there is to see, then perhaps not logging back in for a week or a month, the trickle of Google+ invites is causing me to go look around at least once a day.

I’m beginning to think that the invites were actually a calculated move to keep the initial users coming back, welcoming their friends as they join and “showing them around” so to speak, all the while adding more activity to Google+.

Instead of creating a flash-mob that might have dispersed after a month or two, Google has created a pilgrimage. Very clever, I think, if intentional.

  • Marco3 Perez

    Agreed, not to mention the immense build up of anxious would-be Google+’ers all gearing to get their grubby little hands on an invite…yes I am describing my self…and yest it works!

    @practicAndroid:disqus 
    http://www.practicallyandroid.com

  • http://twitter.com/benmc Ben Mc

    Of course it was a calculated move, the debate has been whether or not “the move” will bust like Wave or fly like Gmail.

  • http://www.luisramalho.com Luís Ramalho

    Couldn’t agree more, it’s a really good strategy from Google, basically it was like Facebook started as well… kind of limited at first, and slowly opening up. It’s proven it works… I’m dying for an invite as well, I never thought I’d be though ))

  • http://mikecanex.wordpress.com/ Mike Cane

    If it’s calculated, it’s backfired with me.  Too few people to make it worth my while to be there.

  • KD

    It’s human nature to want something that you can’t have. Something like google+ with all the press it’s garnering is even more enticing – it seems to be this ‘facebook killer’ we’ve all been waiting for but since we can’t all get on to find out, we just have to go off what our friends that are already in are telling us. 

    If it’s anything like Gmail, the invite system will just make more and more people want in. Gmail, in the beginning, was very exclusive. I was literally excited when I got an invitation – who gets excited about email anymore? Gmail wasn’t even that much better – it was just exclusive. Exclusivity makes people think something is much better than it really is and makes them want in even more. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/brianbleep Brian ‘Bleep’ Scavo

    This is something Google has been doing for years and years.