????憑借自動駕駛汽車、以眼鏡為代表的可穿戴式計算機、以及將3G網(wǎng)絡帶入新興市場的太陽能高壓氣球，谷歌（Google）依舊是技術界最具有未來氣息的公司之一。不過，它的創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品之一社交網(wǎng)絡Google+卻讓它看起來明顯跟不上時代。

????Google+自兩年前問世以來一直命途多舛。觀察家一直質(zhì)疑這個社交網(wǎng)絡能否在Facebook和Twitter主宰的市場上闖出一片天地。顯然，Google+比Facebook晚上七年出生不是什么好事，這意味著它需要付出許多努力來迎頭追趕。（的確，曾任Facebook游戲合作部門主任的肖恩?萊恩曾經(jīng)嘲笑說Google+根本沒有用戶。）

????高德納研究公司（Gartner Research）研究總監(jiān)布萊恩?布勞說：“我覺得谷歌就是錯過了那個機會。”他指的是2000年代中期時，顧客想要與朋友和家人在網(wǎng)上交流溝通的欲望一直無法宣泄。“這是一場艱苦的斗爭，尤其是你還要挑戰(zhàn)Facebook的地位?！?/p>

????確實，正如2011年出版的《谷歌如何思考、運作并改變我們的生活方式》（In the Plex）中所說，作為一家大型公司投身社交網(wǎng)絡市場的舉措，Google+算不上一項高瞻遠矚的創(chuàng)新。

????隨著在谷歌效力8年的高級副總裁維克?古多塔于上周離職，關于Google+即將消亡的猜測愈演愈烈。Google+是否還能得以維持？這個問題如今變得撲朔迷離。科技網(wǎng)站TechCrunch引用匿名消息源稱，Google+的開發(fā)將會降溫，它會從谷歌的主要產(chǎn)品過渡為一個幕后的平臺。領導Google+開發(fā)和集成的古多塔如今離職可以看成它已經(jīng)不堪重負的標志。

????谷歌在Google+擴大使用范圍和用戶基礎時，采用了極其積極主動的做法，把它植入了包括Gmail在內(nèi)的許多谷歌的服務項目，通過推出特色項目來與Facebook爭奪領先優(yōu)勢，比如利用Google+賬戶登錄其他服務、利用+1按鈕推薦網(wǎng)絡內(nèi)容等功能。這一切努力都在谷歌去年10月的報告中得到了體現(xiàn)：這項谷歌服務的月活躍用戶達到3億，用戶每周上傳的圖片已經(jīng)達到了15億張。

????布萊恩?布勞認為照片和視頻是Google+可以同競爭者抗衡的少數(shù)幾個領域，他建議說：“不妨試著增加照片和視頻，同時進一步削減文字的比重，然后再看看效果如何？”

????無論如何，不管有沒有古多塔，Google+可能依然會存活下去。據(jù)說，在谷歌工作了6年的工程副總裁大衛(wèi)?貝斯布里斯將成為古多塔的接班人。他被之前的同事稱為“自然之力”，是一位“高瞻遠矚的領袖”。

????曾在美國在線（AOL）與他共事的約翰?羅賓遜在貝斯布里斯的LinkedIn簡介中寫道：“他有辦法在當下的現(xiàn)實中找到正確的方向，同時描繪出未來的一切可能?！本退鉍oogle+逐漸式微，但它如果還想繼續(xù)維持下去的話，貝斯布里斯的這些素質(zhì)將來可能會派上用場。

????譯者：嚴匡正

????With self-driving cars, a wearable computer worn like eyewear and solar-powered, high-pressure balloons that bring 3G-level Internet connectivity to emerging markets, Google (GOOG) remains one of the most futuristic companies in tech. But one of its initiatives -- the social network Google+ -- is making the company look decidedly backward.

????Since Google+ launched two years ago, the social network has not had it easy. Observers have asked whether the social network can succeed in a space already dominated by Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TWTR). Certainly, it didn't help that Google+ arrived seven years after Facebook, which meant a lot of catching up. (Indeed, Facebook's ex-director of game partnerships Sean Ryan once ribbed the platform for not having users.)

????"I think Google just missed that opportunity," said Gartner Research Director Brian Blau, referring to consumers' pent-up desire in the mid-2000s to connect and engage with their friends and family members online. "It's an uphill battle, especially when you're competing on Facebook's terms."

????Indeed, as the 2011 book "In the Plex" explained, Google+ wasn't a forward-thinking initiative so much as a massive company effort to catch up in social networking.

????Adding to the speculation about the demise of Google+ was Google Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra's departure last week after 8 years with the tech giant. It raised questions about whether Google+ was on life support, with tech site TechCrunch citing anonymous sources saying Google+ development would be throttled back from being a major product to more of a behind-the-scenes platform. The absence of Gundotra now, who led Google+ development and integration, could be viewed as an onerous sign.

????Google has certainly been extremely aggressive in the way it has expanded Google+'s reach and user base, integrating it into many of its own services, including Gmail, and taking Facebook's lead with features, such as the ability to sign into services with a Google+ account or a +1 button across Internet content. All those efforts have translated into a reported 300 million monthly active users uploading 1.5 billion photos a week to Google services as of October.

????"What if they played up photos and videos and cut back on text further?" suggested Blau, who argues that photography and video are among the few areas where the social network can match its rivals.

????Regardless, there may be life yet in Google+, with or without Gundotra. Google VP of engineering and six-year company veteran David Besbris is said to be Gundotra's heir apparent and has been described by his former colleagues as a "force of nature" and a "visionary leader."

????"He's able to navigate the realities of the present, while simultaneously charting the possibilities of the future," wrote John Robinson, a former AOL (AOL) coworker, on Besbris' LinkedIn (LNKD) profile. Those are the qualities that will likely prove handy if Google+ is to continue, even in a diminished role.