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Google Plus Now Minus Chief Vic Gundotra

JG0LD (2616363) writes "Vic Gundotra, the man behind Google Plus and one of Google's most prominent executives, announced today that he will leave the company 'effective immediately.' Gundotra made the announcement, appropriately enough, in a lengthy Google Plus post, praising his co-workers and saying that he is 'excited about what's next.' However, he did not further outline his future plans, saying that 'this isn't the day to talk about that.'"

12 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. Google- by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Any chance this means Google is going to back-pedal on Google+ ?

    I'd welcome Google splitting it's products such that you can subscribe to YouTube without also being signed up to Google+ and GMail and Maps and the kitchen sink. Or vice versa.

    1. Re:Google- by yuhong · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or at least comply with EU privacy laws.

    2. Re:Google- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      You are incorrect.
      You cannot comment on youtube without g+
      You cannot, according to ToS, have a g+ profile without having your real name on it.

      They already had single sign on using gprofile/gmail as the key. But they did not require a real name for that. Having a real name associated with the account is a no go for some people. I do not feel comfortable for people who follow my art blog having a way to go from my email to my real name. I'll choose to give it to those I am comfortable meeting in real life and no one else.

    3. Re:Google- by Charliemopps · · Score: 4, Funny

      How could you be any more private than by being the only user of Google+ ?

    4. Re:Google- by Charliemopps · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How about a settings page?

      I would like to be enrolled in the falling Google services:
      Gmail
      Google+
      Youtube
      Google Drive
      Google Docs

      Etc.
      The problem with being universally logged into Google+ is that it introduces a LOT of other spying crap on other websites. Most people log in to Google+ so rarely that they don't even realize all that Midget porn they'd been thumbs upping is plastered all over a google website with their full name, email and phone number on it.

  2. Made the announcement in a Google+ post by olsmeister · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, trying to keep it on the D/L?

  3. Re:Please... by quarterbuck · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, they'd have to fix the real name policy and allow it to be separate from youtube/gmail etc.
    I don't want all my gmail contacts getting notified through Google+ that watzinaneihm liked the latest pop video on youtube.
    I don't think I do that many controversial things, but after what happened to the Mozilla CEO, I realize that what is acceptable in the future has no relation to how it is perceived today. I am not saying that donation to anti-gay-marriage was ever right, but I don't think doing what the president of the country was doing at that time was a fire-able offense either.

    --
    http://slashdot.org/submission/1062723/Cheap-mobile-data-plan?art_pos=2
  4. If he did it using Google+... by kwiqsilver · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm surprised anybody found out. I bet a bunch of people showed up at the office the next day asking, "Where's Vic? It looks like he cleaned out his office."

  5. Re:Please... by lemur3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    one can create what is called a "Page" in google+ parlance.. and that page can be pseudonymous,.. you can be named anything you want under that page and use it on youtube, etc..

    of course youll have to create it from a 'real name' google+ account, but unless you divulge it in public theres no way to know who it is behind the 'Page' account. .....your gmail contacts dont get notified if you like the latest pop video on youtube when using a google+ account...

    on commenting for the *First Time* using an account on youtube which is tied to google+ the default option below the comment box is to 'make public' the comment, which sends it to your google+ feed, if you turn that option off it is sticky and will remain off in the future and that comment only lives within youtube.

    while there are annoyances related to google+ ..most of the complaints just dont apply these days, it has changed quite a lot since it came out a few years ago... and for most of the complaints, there is a (mostly) reasonable solution.

    the "i want to be totally anonymous" solution some people seem to look for doesnt really apply to the product.. pseudoanonymity is about as best as youll get

  6. Re:Please... by vux984 · · Score: 5, Informative

    So go to your preferences and turn it off. Or uncheck the 'also share on Google+' checkbox when posting.

    And relearn how to do that every time google changes anything. Possilby needing to learn new permissions models and settings and interfaces on Google's unpredictable schedule.

    Take a look at Facebook's permissions settings history for an example.

    Seriosly, This isn't hard.

    It's harder than it needs to be.

    Separate the accounts entirely that aren't linked to something with your real name eliminates unintended mistakes no matter what google does with the interface tomorrow.

  7. Re:Vive Vacation Vic! by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Informative

    My daughter has removed every hidden tick from every hidden box she can find on G+, but every personal photo she takes on her Nexus 5 ends up straight away "shared".

    Amusingly, this is a feature which defaults off. She asked for this. Now she can't figure out how to turn it off, and Google is the bad guy? Maybe the apple just doesn't fall far from the tree.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  8. Humans hide things from each other all the time by Camael · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm sorry, but G+ will fail because it doesn't reflect how humans interact with each other. We hide things from each other all the time. Human beings are multi-faceted creatures, and throughout our day we present different masks to different people.


    1.    
    2. To my pro-Republican boss, I show my hard worker side. I don't tell him I post rabidly on liberal websites.
    3.    

    4. To my co-worker, I show him I'm a cooperative team player. I don't show him that I bitch about his back stabbing habits to my colleagues.
    5.    

    6. To my wife, I show that I am a loving husband who appreciates her love handles. I don't let her know that I am a card carrying member of the Playboy Club.
    7.    

    8. To my secretary, I show that I am a pro-feminist boss who buys gifts on Secretary's Week. I don't let her know that I visit Hooters every other week and that I tell my friends she has a hot ass.
    9.    

    10. To that cute florist on the ground floor of my building, I am that that guy who always has time to chat with her in the morning. I hide my ring.

    None of this is true of course, but I'm simply illustrating that we tell white lies all the time. Everyone has something to hide. Putting everything under one unified identity, with the possibility of those that you deal with discovering previously unknown sides to you that you have been keeping secret from them is simply too big a risk to bear.