Google is splitting Google+ up. In a post on Google+ today, Bradley Horowitz, an existing Google VP of product, announced that he'd taken over responsibilities for the service, which will now be split into new services called Photos and Streams.
That's not to say that Google+ is dead yet—at least not officially. But it does suggest that Google is moving away from the pure Plus branding, which suggests an overhaul may be not too far off. Indeed, last week, speaking to Forbes, Google's senior vice president of products Sundar Pichai, said that "I think increasingly you'll see us focus on communications, photos and the Google+ Stream as three important areas, rather than being thought of as one area." Clearly, this news separates out Photos and Stream, with the communications element—presumably Hangouts—already a separate entity.
It may be that with the two new products having official names, the Google+ branding simply melts away. But that's speculation. We'll just have to wait see what Google wants from its so-far unsuccessful social network. [Bradley Horowitz via The Verge]
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