Google fast-tracks business page dev't, disables major brand profiles

With more and more brands and businesses setting up their profiles on social networking site Google+, the technology giant has decided to fast-track the development of its business pages with a goal of having them running "in the next few months." But before it could hit the ground running with business pages, Google started deactivating profiles associated with brands starting Friday, as it had announced earlier. Some of the more prominent casualties of the purge include automobile company Ford, technology news site Mashable and children's show Sesame Street. GMA News' own Google+ profile has also been deleted early Friday. Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, in a post on his personal Google+ account, said Mashable was able to create a workaround by associating a name and a photo of a person on what used to be their Mashable News account. "This account will continue to exist, but going forward it'll have my name and picture, and I'll continue to post here," Cashmore said. Google product manager Christian Oestlien confirmed the existence of this workaround, saying they would continue disabling profiles if a mere entity is the one controlling it. "We recommend you find a real person who is willing to represent your organization on Google+ using a real profile as him-or-herself," Oestlien said. With the exponential demand from businesses and brands, Oestlien said they are forced to roll out the business pages quickly in response to the remarkable enthusiasm from users. "Your enthusiasm obligates us to do more to get businesses involved in Google+ in the right way, and we have to do it faster. As a result, we have refocused a few priorities and we expect to have an initial version of businesses profiles up and running for everyone in the next few months," he said. Oestlien added that some business profiles will still be active "solely for the purpose of testing how businesses interact with consumers," but didn't disclose which brand pages these are. The Google executive reiterated that the field test version of the social networking site is not yet suitable for businesses, as pages are still focused on how individuals interact with each other. "We want to help you build long-term relationships with your customers. Doing it right is worth the wait," he stressed. Google had earlier urged businesses to sign-up for a "test period" of the business pages, but Oestlien didn't say when this test period will commence. He earlier hinted that the business pages for Google should "far exceed the consumer profile in terms of its usefulness to businesses." — TJD, GMA News