>

...as a mark, not a mastermind. He's a shameless weasel but the whole plan doesn't seem well thought out. He seems to compulsively lie, rather than scheme and create a proper backstory.
"Just a month before his 20th birthday, Mr. Santos entered a small clothing store in the Brazilian city of Niterói outside Rio de Janeiro. He spent nearly $700 using a stolen checkbook and a false name, court records show.
Mr. Santos admitted the fraud to the shop owner in August 2009, writing on Orkut, a popular social media website in Brazil, “I know I screwed up, but I want to pay.” In 2010, he and his mother told the police that he had stolen the checkbook of a man his mother used to work for, and used it to make fraudulent purchases."
So here we are, 13 years later. Wanting to pay is not the same as actually paying it seems. >

Orkut… fuck that’s a blast from the past. It was supposed to be the Friendster killer from Google. I remember logging in a few years after the hype died down and like 90% of the posts were in Portuguese. >

It's funny how many of Google's "killer apps" died inglorious deaths. >

And now people won't sign up to any of their new services, because they will shut it down anyway, turning it into a self fulfilling prophecy >

What services? Everything they have is integrated with their google account. Most people use a Google account, they don't have to sign up for anything. >

Not OP but Google has tons of apps and services.  Google has a history of killing services, some that people loved.  Most people stick to Gmail, meet, calendar, chrome, photos.  Even photos was morphed from pixel. Google Plus wasn't even terrible, but they made it invite only for way too long and just made it a cleaner looking FB with a few extra features. >

I get that, but what I mean is that there is no conscious act of signing up. People use their stuff they already have and they catch up stuff around it by extension.
Google docs for example has a big user base because it is an extension for their services that was integrated in Gmail and Drive. People didn't sign up for it, they just started using on opportunity.
Same way there is no conscious act of signing up, there is no conscious act of refraining from it. People will use their services or not based on their utility to them and opportunity. And Google will support them or kill them based on their popularity.
In the particular case of Orkut or Plus, is as same as Chat or original Hangouts, it requires an active user base for people to get using it, so they lack that igniting spark. Same reason why other social media sites have difficulty getting from the ground and die fast. >

People make decisions like buying Google Stadia, or build a Chrome App, or having a legacy free G Suite Account (I got bitten by this one, but at least I already had moved anything important out of Google) or invest on Google Streams (which confusingly was a device and service for doctors), or... and unless it's something they don't care about they always get screwed in the end. >


He spent nearly $700 using a stolen checkbook and a false name

Setting the pattern for later successes. Who's the money behind this fellow anyway? >


"Andrew Intrater, money manager to Russian Viktor Vekselberg, gave $56,100 to committees tied to Rep.-elect George Devolder-Santos, who called Ukraine “totalitarian.”

-Daily Beast >

Ironic that he then claims to be descendant of Ukrainian jews