We all saw this coming. On Thursday, Google introduced deeper Google+ integration into its email service to allow any Google+ user to send each other Gmail. It’s the search giant’s latest push to make Google+ the glue that holds together all Google services.
This writing has been on the wall for a while now. Last year, Google began requiring Google+ accounts for all YouTube users who wanted to comment on videos. And Gmail inboxes are starting to fill up with constant reminders alerting users to “what you missed” on Google+.
But as Google continues its effort to tie all its services together in a neatly wrapped package, users are slowly feeling the pressure to conform to Google’s standards. Many don’t like it. (Just check out the comments to this ReadWrite piece about the YouTube change.)
That’s not to say Google is changing everything in one fell swoop. In fact, with each new service it announces, Google anticipates backlash and makes updates less intrusive than they might be perceived. For instance, while the Google+ and Gmail contact integration is a default, the company gives you a variety of options to let you control who on Google+ can email you. That includes no one (although you have to take the initiative to change that setting yourself).
As Google+ begins to become the platform all of Google is built on, our control lessens. At first, anyone could comment on YouTube. And then YouTube was linked to your Google+ account (if you had one). And then an account was required to comment on a video. And then everyone freaked out.