Google terminated the consumer version of Google+ earlier this month. However, the G Suite version for business users was left alone. That is, until today.
Today, Google is rolling out Google Currents, which replaces Google+ within the G Suite. Google made the announcement during its annual developer conference geared towards Google Cloud businesses called Cloud Next 2019.
Although Google Currents works much the same as Google+ did within the G Suite, it now features a new look (with tons of white space, as you can see in the images above). For business users, Google Currents will be akin to Slack in that it gives employees an easy way to engage in conversations without clogging email inboxes. It also allows management to monitor conversations and interact with employees directly.
Currents is only available in beta at the moment, so if you’re part of a G Suite group you’ll either have to ask your Admin to enroll in the beta program or wait until it rolls out within the stable channel.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first product from Google called Currents. In 2011, there was a product called Google Currents which focused on online magazines. It was eventually folded into the Google Play Newsstand, which eventually became the modern Google News.
Since Google Currents is primarily a tool for businesses, it is unlikely Google will roll out a consumer version of the product.
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