Facebook rival Google+ plays it cool; top guys tell of rush they didn't expect
The men behind Google+ have lifted a corner of the blanket to let us know a bit more about Google+ and the Apple men's input.
Of the huge (undisclosed) volume of customers, he says, "We did not anticipate this much this soon, in terms of traffic and passion of users.
"We thought we had the due course of time to get it right before the world came to our doorstep. The world is at our door, and they want it, and they want it now."
Horowitz and Vic Gundotra the two executives in charge of Google+, say that although the numbers are impressive, it's far too soon to declare Google+ a winner.
"We're Google. We can get anybody to kick the tires of a product," said Gundotra. "It doesn't mean it's going to be successful."
The two studied Google's previous failures with Orkut, Wave and Buzz to find a better way of tackling rival social networks like 750 million-member Facebook with its ability to hit Google's advertising business.
The interview took place in Building 2000 on the Googleplex, where the team was assembled in June 2010 to build Google+.
"We've got some great characters here," Gundotra said.
"People don't get how magical this team is. How we came together in the course of the past year to become friends.
"We're a heated team, a passionate team, lots of good fights, but it's a team that is pretty amazing."
One member is Andy Hertzfeld, a 57-year-old engineer who helped design the Macintosh computer at Apple in the 80s. He built Circles, the Google+ feature where members get to connect with others.
"Andy is a tremendous talent," said Horowitz. "I think his spirit, his whimsy, his approach shines through."
Another 1980s Apple veteran is Bill Atkinson,but Hertzfeld told the interviewer that stories that Google built the network by tapping Apple's design genius are not true and praised "awesome young" team members.
Horowitz believes the huge social network lineup - from Facebook to Twitter to Flickr to LinkedIn - has confused everyone.
"What we found was that sharing was fundamentally broken on the Net. It's not that there weren't a million ways to share; it's that there were a million ways to share. They weren't coherent."
Michael Fauscette, an analyst with IDC, told the Mercury News, "Until Google+ really starts to go mainstream, and I see my cousin in Florida decide to get on it, I just don't think we can say it's a success. We've got a ways to go."