Google+ isn't s social network.
It has a social network component, but that's a secondary, optional feature and you never have to use it if you prefer not to.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using AC Forums mobile app
Google+ is a Social Network.
So you would rather use messaging, talk , and drop box at a much worse experience? Wow dude. Just create a Google plus account and don't use it lol. You're stubbornness is killing you.
"Messaging" is actually SMS/MMS. It's a fallback and no I don't want it lumped into an IM client unless it works like iMessage. Hangouts, from what I see, will work more like Facebook Messenger's SMS support, which makes it functionally worthless to me. There's a HUGE difference between the two implementations.
Dropbox doesn't force me to join a Social Network, and it has other merits that put it ahead of Google Drive and SkyDrive for a ton of users. That is just one aspect related to the subject here. Delving into that would derail the thread.
But if it has non social network features and you are not obligated to use social network features, then it's not really a social network app. Social network is only one component that no one is forcing you to use.
It's mind boggling how paranoid you are that you elected to use inferior tools to accomplish the same task. Does dropBox even have automatic pic upload and pic editing tool selection on par with Google? Not being integrated into your account is also a pita
The only thing mind-boggling is how mind-bogglingly sweeping your generalizations are...
1. Not posting social updates doesn't suddenly change G+ from a Social Network to something else.
By your illogic, if I only use Facebook for Messenger, then Facebook is therefore not really a Social App. This makes Zero (0) sense. IIRC, if you have Google+ enabled and open Hangouts you are getting Suggestions from Google+ - a rather large list of them at that... What do you call that? Should I spam hide them only to have them replaced with other suggestions???
2. Dropbox had Auto Upload before Google. I won't even comment on your "inferior" comment since it just make you look like a fanboy and I know better than to get into the details with people like that (and they often are clueless about said details, resorting instead to ad hominems, like your "mind-boggling... paranoid" comment).
3. I don't care about Image Editing in Google+, because the Snapseed app is free (don't use it) and my phone has Photo/Video Editors Built In and I have purchased Photoshop Touch. I'm not at a loss for those capabilities. I also don't spam share photos from my phone. I used the photo sharing example as a way to illustrate how worthless this service is if you do not buy into Google+, which most mainstream consumers aren't willing to do - clearly (look at the number and engagement data, I'm not going to argue about this).
4. Additionally, I use cloud storage and Auto-Upload/Sharing v
ideo, not photos - particularly avoiding the type of quality loss you may get form other sources (like posting to Facebook, which compresses). Training videos that I take with my phone I share with coaches and other athletes, for example. AFAIK, you cannot edit video on Google+. That is done on a desktop PC and then uploaded with a program directly to Cloud Storage of a Sharing Service. Currently I'm using SkyDrive for this, but want to separate it from my normal data. Video Analysis is not done on Google+ or in Snapseed, on mobile it is done in apps like Coach's Eye, Dartfish Express, Ubersense, etc. I do share screen caps from video, taken from video analysis applications, however editing those typically only hurts the quality...
Auto-Awesome is the most useless thing for this type of media (it often results in quality loss - I've tried it), so I'd have to have it toggled off.
To be quite honest, my device has become more useful since I've moved everything off of Google to 3rd party services, which tend to be better designed and offer a better user experience (Ever tried to attach a Document after starting an email in the Android email app? Almost feel like iOS!). It's interesting how you make sweeping statements about the inferiority of rival products when many of the Google apps are quite limited compared to OEM or 3rd party offerings - Gmail being the most prominent example...
Search, Maps/Earth, and YouTube are the only Google Apps that I use a lot on my device. I don't use Google Talk anymore. I moved most people to Skype (and Facebook Messenger for those who use that). The rest aren't decently portable and I still use my Laptop a ton (Windows 8, where other services are better integrated).
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