Like you, I adored Google Wave.

And then I never needed it. So I totally get what you’re saying.

But this time you’re totally wrong. Actually, that’s not true – you’re just making a generalisation and an assumption that your feelings will turn out to be right (as they were with Wave).

I immediately loved G+. And, more importantly, instantly knew how to use it. Because it’s pretty much exactly what I’d been looking for. My first feeling on getting into G+ was a feeling of recognition.

The circles is exactly what me and other people I know have been looking for forever. Circles is the reason I have 3 Twitter accounts – I contain multitudes etc

(They’re the reason Orkut is miles better than FB – I hate any social network that decides there’s only one of me, with one passion and one group of friends. As a few blog posts have pointed out recently, there are ‘circles’ on FB too – but I never worked out how to use them. I hate FB. I utterly detest it. I’ve never been that bothered about privacy online. But I do demand the right to keep my various personas separate, just as I do in real life.)

The fact that other people won’t get them is a joy for me. No family, no neighbours, none of my wife’s friends – this is exactly what I want from a social network.

In short, your bug is my feature. I don’t think Google have made a mistake at all. They’ve just confounded your mistaken expectations.