The news broke yesterday that Google+, after years of holding the line on requiring real names, is now allowing fake names to be used on the social media platform. This is a huge change for Google+, something that Google commented on in their Google+ post about the news:

“When we launched Google+ over three years ago, we had a lot of restrictions on what name you could use on your profile. This helped create a community made up of real people, but it also excluded a number of people who wanted to be part of it without using their real names.”

There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years about anonymity on the web, specifically when it comes to social media and commenting. While their are pros and cons to each argument, one could argue that the stance on fake names will allow for a new interest in the platform. New social media apps like Snapchat and Secrets are growing and gaining users, which could be alarming to the “old guard” of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+). These new apps don’t require information like your birthday, your location, your real name; they are just made to share.

In a post-Snowden NSA wiretapping world, people are concerned about privacy. Google is one of those corporations that strikes a lot of fear into people. By making this change to their account naming rules, Google+ may be perceived (or are attempting to be perceived) by the public to be a social media platform that is more privacy friendly, which is interesting timing considering Facebook’s recent privacy concerns.

Since it’s creation, Google+ has always been a focus by our team for our clients. We invest time into Google+ and believe that it is important for our clients to be on the platform. With announcements like this, we are sure that the platform will continue to grow and become an even bigger aspect of business’ social media strategy.

By: Erik