Socially Mundane

Various tech publications have found their corporate accounts unceremoniously booted [from Google+], with Google claiming that it’s trying to keep the service for individuals at present.

While this has been met with stoic understanding by the people involved, the company’s next step in the cull might cause a bigger stir: the advertising giant is focusing on those who prefer to be known by an avatar.

Opensource Obscure, a Second Life user who prefers to be identified by his/her avatar rather than by his/her real-world identity, is one of the first to be have been selected for removal from the service. While the account is still present on Google , it is listed as ‘suspended’.

Funny in a pathetic way.

Here is what I suspect is happening: GoogleGods only want individuals, not commercial entities, in Google+. Why? Because Google’s customer is the paying advertiser, not you the individual. You the individual user are Google’s “product” - not their search system. Google’s search system is the carrot that lures you into Google’s fold.

Hence, as a paying advertiser, I do not want to pay for any advertising that goes to “commercial entities” because the likely effectiveness of those adverts is likely in the negative fifty percentile. So, um, no!

Thus, Google boots commercial entities. They want individual people who might actually click an advert or two, giving the paying advertiser the false hope of there adverts actually being more effective than they really are, which gives the GoogleGods hope of raking-in those legal-tender buckaroos.

Which brings us to “Obscure” namesakes in your Google Profile.

You might only use GMail, but Google has many, many different services, some of which you’ve at least heard of such as Reader (RSS), Blogger (soon to be rebranded as Google Blogs), Picasa (Soon to be rebranded as Google Photos…or something) and so on.

However, what you may not be aware of is that you have a “Google Account” which is an ‘umbrella’ that covers all Google Services: one log-in, full access. The part you may not know is that you have a Google Profile.

Go to https://www.google.com/accounts/ and you’ll see a big list of all the Google Services you’ve used and a “More” link to show all the other services you haven’t, yet - but can. Note in the top left of that page is your pretty mug-shot (or not). Next to that is a link to either create or edit your public Google Profile.

If you haven’t created a Public Profile, yet, you will see a link called “Edit your personal info”. Here is the part where I suspect Opensource Obscure tripped-up and “flagged” Google to suspect his Google+ account.

It’s okay to use “Opensource Obscure” in the “first name”/”last name” field. However, there also is a place on that form to put “Other names” - and this is where he can put something else that sounds more like a “real name” - you know, like “Johnny Doe Boy” or something. Hell, anything.

Doing this does not guarantee what happens to O. Obscure won’t happen to you. However, it surely helps. Because in short, I suspect the GoogleGods mistook Opensource Obscure to be a Commercial Entity and not an individual.

This would be because his name is, well Obscure.