Why Google Plus isn't dead -- well, yet

Google Plus, Google's much-chided version of Facebook, celebrated its first birthday last week. That probably means one of two things to you. If you're a tech geek: "That site's still around?" Or if not: "What the heck is Google Plus?"
Both of those reactions, however, may be missing the point.Here's a look at a few -- and unexpected -- reasons Google Plus is clinging to relevance in the Facebook era. (Disclosure: If you'd like to see where this post began, check out a conversation on my Google Plus page. I'm still a sometimes-active user of the site).
'Social glue' for the rest of Google
Google last week released a few updates to its social network -- including an Events feature and new methods of live photo sharing with small groups. Perhaps more importantly, it underscored the idea that the company doesn't see Google Plus as a social network at all.
Google's Vic Gundotra told the blog Mashable that "Google Plus is just an upgrade to Google."
On one hand, this seems convenient, since Google Plus is losing the numbers game to Facebook. (More on that soon). On the other, it might be really smart. Google Plus has the potential to be the "social glue" that binds all of Google's already-interesting and already-used products together, writes Richard MacManus, from the blog ReadWriteWeb."One year ago, I think we all expected Google+ to turn into a better standalone product than what we've got now. But despite that, Google+ has turned out to be incredibly useful to Google," he says. "If I was to project what Google+ will be like in July 2013, I'd guess it will be even less about being a standalone social network and even more about supporting YouTube, Google search et al."
You may have noticed this showing up in all kinds of small ways on your version of the Internet. If you have Google social search turned on, you see links friends have posted on Google Plus. It's now possible to log into YouTube using the network. Google Reader's "share" feature coordinates with Google Plus these days -- and even e-mail lists can be pulled from Google friend "Circles."
The rest of Google's products, especially search, are popular, even if Google Plus isn't on its own.
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