While social network is becoming the taost of many Nigerian professionals, search engine, Google yesterday announced that Google+, its social network launched in 2011 now has no fewer than 250 million users globally.
This feat appears to make Google+ the fastest growing social network in terms of rate of growth within its first year.
The search engine also informed that there are now over 1 million brand pages that now give brands and companies in Nigeria and other parts of the world an opportunity to build social relationships and share anything with their followers; half of whom log-in every day and spend about an hour on the network.
Reacting to this development, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and PR Manager of Google West Africa said that the rate of growth of Google+ was being driven by the social platform’s ability to connect people based on how real life relationships are built.
“Google+ integrates social services such as Google Profiles, and utilizes features Circles, Hangouts and Sparks to give users the human touch while within a online social world. One of the features that make Google+ even more ideal for Nigeria is the Google+ SMS announced inMarch this year” he said.
According to him, Google+ SMS, makes it possible for everyone to use Google+ on all types of mobile devices – either with data or not. Users can share and keep up with people no matter where they are, and on any phone via SMS.
“We have been hearing all sorts of exciting stories about how Nigerian professional are using Google+ to positively impact the lives of other Nigerians. Examples such as Emeka Njoku Thaddaeus; a Teaching Assistant at University of Ibadan Distance LearningCenter who uses Google+ to foster e-learning at his university, Dr Sid of Mavin Record Label who interacts actively with his fans via ongoing posts around his upcoming projects, and Pastor Nike Adeyemi of the Daystar Christian Center who used the platform to connect and engage via the Hangouts feature show that Google+ has indeed has found root in Nigeria” Juliet Ehimuan, Country Manager of Google Nigeria, explained.
She further said that Google+ presents immense opportunities for businesses and individuals looking to broadcast their products and expertise, With Google+, Nigerians can now easily connect, and share their ideas with friends, potential clients and sponsors using via pictures, text or video chat.
Meanwhile, Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information everyday.
Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets.
Google’s mission in Africa is to make the internet an integral part of every day life in Africa, by increasing it’s relevance and usefulness, eliminating access barriers for potential users, and developing products that are meaningful for the countries in the region. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe,Africa and Asia