Why Google+ will soon suck

I absolutely love Google+, in fact I'm starting to devote an unhealthy amount of time to it. Google's incorporation of Circles, Huddle and Hangouts has made for an awesome social experience. I also love the people on there, we all have common interests such as our love for Google, tech industry experience, and understanding of social. Above all else, what I love about Google+ is that it's not Facebook.

That last point may lose it's validity as Google+ is set to copy one of the most annoying aspects of Facebook, social games. Before I go on I want to say I understand it's a cash cow and that users spend inordinate amounts of time on Facebook because of it. Since I'm not into the gaming side though the hundreds of game requests I receive is just annoying spam.

But that's just part of the inevitable. The new social network is rapidly growing, just passing the 20 million mark. As it grows the noise is going to get louder, filled with spammers and trolls. My disappointment with Google though is it's apparent hurriedness to monetize the site.

The move to usher in a gaming platform that fosters spam seems so uncharacteristic of Google. The passion of Google comes from the founder's obsessive search of data. Larry and Sergey have said they want to connect everybody to all the world's knowledge. How does adding a gaming platform to it's social site work towards bringing together the world's data?

It's like moving into a new neighborhood that's in the early stages of being built. There's not a lot of people around so it's a nice and quiet area. You had to be invited so you do have a feeling of achievement getting accepted. You understand that it won't stay that way forever though because it is developing at a fast pace but you decide to just enjoy the laid back feel while you have it. But then instead of building the school down the street as planned, the developers put in a nightclub. Your peaceful neighborhood Has been ruined by the undesirable crowd that pours in. You now wake in the mornings to trash lining the streets from the night before.

Last month, Kara Swisher from All Things D reported that a games network was likely coming next on Google+.

At the time, a spokesperson issued this statement: “It’s important to keep in mind this is an ongoing project and this is just the beginning. We plan to add a lot of features and functionality to Google+ over time. We’re just excited to get started.”

I would like to say that if Google ends up realizing that it's a horrible mistake they can just take it away. But once it's implemented the damage will be done. The spamming crowd will be ushered in and our news feed will be graffitied by inordinate amounts of game invites.

The one saving grace is that grouping has been done right through Google Circles. Those that I follow that think it's ok to ask me ten times a day to milk their cow will be put in the circle that's ignored.