From Hacker News, via Ryan Tate:
Google Plus is like the movie Dark City. It's a group of technical aliens picking apart the human experience, trying different scenarios in order to find out what the human soul is.Exactly. I mean, +1.
Once per day, humans wake up and find themselves in its meticulously-constructed parallel universe, doing things as ordinary humans do on other websites. Their activities, such as appreciating music and searching for lovers, feel familiar, necessary and meaningful, but at the same time, the unsettling atmosphere prevents the existential questions from settling deeply repressed where they should be. Instead, we're left wondering, "Why are we doing this here?" Isn't there something better? Is there a Shell Beach out there somewhere? Couldn't I just do this all myself on 1999-style website and live a more natural life?
Successful, albeit defunct, networks like MySpace work b/c above and beyond, they were passionate about connecting people with things they want. e.g. music... at all costs! Facebook reassures you that you dodged a bullet when you didn't marry your high school sweetheart. Google Plus just screams "use me. use me. use me for... everything or anything.. so that... um... so that google can keep track of what's hip and make money while I don't." There's no soul or love deep at the bottom.
There's a whole lot more I could say about passion, sacrifice, vulnerability, and empty vs. full cabinets, but I have a customer to service now, so I'll leave you with this hint: Germick is onto something with the google doodles. Hire me as a consultant if you really want to pick my brain.