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Google+ numbers would be higher ... if it worked

Is Google's expansion starting to break key products? My G+ and Gmail have been unstable and nearly unusable for months.
Written by Tom Foremski, Contributor

Much has been written about Larry Page, CEO of Google, revealing what look to be good numbers on rising G+ usage.

Mr Page said at the analyst call on Thursday that G+ has 90 million users and that 60% are active daily.

Many observers have questioned if those numbers are accurate but, I bet the daily engagement could very well be higher... if the damn thing worked.

I've had constant troubles with G+ for several months. I keep adding the same people to the same circles time and again. It often will not let me share anything.

Other Google products are failing too. My Gmail is virtually unusable because it delivers my mail more than an hour late, and it won't autocomplete addresses which means I have to search for the right one and copy and paste it in. It's tedious. Google Contacts doesn't work at all, completely blank and won't let me add people.

I've tried repeatedly to get help from Google to fix this -- nothing.

I've seen frustrated posts from others with similar problems, also not able fix it or find anyone at Google to help them.

I know that Google wants desperately to have a large social network but it clearly doesn't get it, because it doesn't use social networks in providing customer support! If you aren't doing it, you won't get it -- this is core to any company's culture.

For example, Apple is a company that is notoriously bad at being active in social media and I would say that this is a primary reason why it has been so bad at creating a social network (Ping).

Google will fail at G+ and other social network ventures if it doesn't fully engage in those networks, and others, with its customers and users. You have to be in it to get it. That's how things work and there's no short cuts.

Google, please fix my G+ and Gmail! This has been going on for months! Cherry-on-top please!

Will Google notice my pleas here? But not my constant requests on Google support forums?

If I'm having serious problems with Google products I'm pretty sure there must be many others because my use is dirt simple, it is not extraordinary in any way. And Google isn't interested in fixing my problem, nor I'm assuming, that of others in the same boat.

That's a warning sign, imho, of a potentially larger issue within Google.

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