You may recall that we had kind of a big problem with Google+’s policy of not allowing pseudonyms. Well, Google just announced they’re finally going to open the doors for them, as well as Google Apps and brand names.
All Things D is reporting that Google’s Sergey Brin and Vic Gundotra announced at the All Things D conference in Hong Kong that the reason they held off for so long was that they were trying to tackle some of their other major security policies first, like how they deal with underaged folks. Now that they feel more secure on that front, they’re working on an implementation for pseudonyms and anonymous users. There are a lot of people online who don’t use their real names and have very legitimate reasons. For some it’s a serious security threat (keeping away from psychotic exes, etc), and for some, they simply never go by their real name. I hate to break it to you, but Lady Gaga’s real first name isn’t Lady, and her last name isn’t Gaga.
Also in the works is integration with Google Apps. For those who use Google Apps for business and have been annoyed that they can’t use Google+ with their account, ’tis a happy day indeed. If someone uses a Google Apps account as their primary email address there’s no reason why they should have to set up another Gmail account just so they can use Plus. Presumedly around the same time that rolls out, Google+ will be opening up for brands to have their own pages. When Google+ was in early days they famously booted Nike and Coke, which I thought was pretty awesome.
While I’m psyched about the first two announcements, I can’t lie, I’m kind of disappointed about the brands thing. People are people, brands are companies. I don’t like it when we treat companies like people, but I guess this was inevitable. Google is, after all, a brand/company itself, and it likes dollar-dollar bills y’all.
Side note: In case you were wondering if any of the 40 million+ people who have signed up are actually using it, according to Vic Gondotra 3.4 billion photos have been uploaded to Google+ since it launched. That’s billion, with a B. [All Things D via Techland]