Google+ Head Vic Gundotra Leaving Company
> Former CEO Eric Schmidt admitted in an interview at the D conference in 2011 that he missed the boat on the rise of identity on the Internet.<p>> “I clearly knew that I had to do something, and I failed to do it,” he said. “A CEO should take responsibility. I screwed up.”<p>I think Eric screwed up in a deeper way that this quote admits. Google+ came up at a time of broader dissatisfaction with other social networks, particularly Facebook.  From both UI weaknesses and social perception, I initially saw G+ gaining a lot of interest among disparate folks I'd loosely label "influencers".  And _all_ of that interest was shot dead due to attempts to own identity by enforcing the use of real names[1].<p>There are very real reasons why "average" people need alternate identities online. In some cases, it's mandatory professional separation; your work persona shouldn't be conflated with your author persona, shouldn't be conflated with your close-friends persona, etc.  Circles were interesting, but solved a different problem.<p>In this regard, I think Schmidt's big failing was analogous to the fable of the golden goose: he killed any chance Google+ had by trying to seize the golden eggs of online identity. This delayed G+'s adoption enough that Facebook in particular was able to react, improving both its then-primary web UI, make some privacy improvements, and significantly shore up its public perception.[2]<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymwars" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymwars</a>
[2] Not counting the rabid social-network and/or Facebook haters, whom cannot be satisfied.