Is Google getting rid of Google Plus business Pages?

This is what my profile looks like on Google+ currently.


There are only two types of profile on Google+ one designed for individual people to use as themselves, like mine, and one for everything else: they are Google+ Pages.

People have never understood "everything else".

Remember the "real name" policy and the big problem it was? It was never a problem because it applied only to People Profiles, not Page Profiles.


In the classic Google+ user interface you could easily tell a Person Profile from an "everything else" Page Profile. On the "Person Profiles" there was an Add (to circles) button. On "Page Profiles" the same button was labelled Follow.

That has changed though, even in the classic UI buttons now say Follow for both profile types.



So if both profile types now look the same does Google still need to offer two profile types? 

I think so, because individuals manage their own stuff, but profiles that cover "everything else" like: businesses, celebrities, clubs etc are usually managed by groups of people. So Pages will stay.

But ... it's important that the profile viewer sees and hopefully understands the difference between a Profile which represents an individual and everything else.

Here's a mockup with a small ðŸ‘¤ icon that I think is all that's needed.


Of course "everything else" could include a business, so ... a different icon.


And because "everything else" could also include a "managed person" (aka: celebrity). A different icon again.


For a place a different icon ...


Finally let's set the cat among the pigeons. Anything else could also mean a brand YouTube channel.


I think branded as YouTuber profiles might see more YouTubers using their Page. Like +Marques Brownlee. Though Marques is actually running an individual user Profile rather than a Page Profile like +Zoella is.

So, after some thought I think that the two profile types looking the "same" could work quite well.

Same ... but different. 

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