Google+ was meant to be an identity service, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said this weekend, shedding some light on Google’s reasoning behind Google+’s controversial real-name policy.
Google’s requirement that members of its social layer, Google+, use only their real names has been a point of contention for several weeks — especially for people with uncommon names and people who prefer to use pseudonyms. Schmidt’s comments at the Edinburgh International TV Festival reveal a new perspective on Google+.
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It’s also worth mentioning that Bradley Horowitz, Google’s VP of Product Management, has somewhat different views on anonymity, real names, and related topics. Xeni Jardin mentions this in a BoingBoing post that includes a link to a recent video interview with Horowitz where the topic is discussed.