Google Gives Up on Google+ as a Facebook Rival - Digits - WSJ

Another take on (Google+)--; must be about time for Google to acquire Twitter and/or Flipboard; tangentially, see Twitter Investors Brace for Crummy Q2 Earnings (Re/code)

"It’s been a slow death, but the mourning may now commence.

Google put the final nail in the coffin of its ambition to make Google+ a real competitor to Facebook, Twitter and other leading social networks.

Brad Horowitz, who took the reins of Google+ earlier this year , said Monday that users will no longer need a Google+ account to engage with others on Google products. Instead, any Google email or account will do."

Google Gives Up on Google+ as a Facebook Rival - Digits - WSJ