Google+ has not reached the potential Google had hoped for when the moonshot project wanted to increase social networking tenfold.

Most see the social network as a mimic of Facebook, offering some interesting photo and video applications, but not enough to stretch the experience.

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Chris Messina, an ex-Google+ designer, has gone on record to question the decisions Google made, from beta to release. His thoughts reflect what most have been asking Google since the launch of the social network - what is the purpose?

Google+ could have been a revenue machine for Google, offering targeted advertising similar to Facebook. The only issue is due to Facebook's more active users, also using Instagram and WhatsApp, more data mining can be achieved.

It makes Google+ less interesting for advertisers, because the metrics for data are not as large as Facebook, making it a lower value service overall. Google has search and other properties, but it can't get personal data from regular searches most of the time.

Messina claims due to a loss of traction and leadership, the Google+ team has just started focusing on adding pre-existing features on other social networks to Google+ to help fill the gap.

The newest feature, Polls, offers a smart way for brands to interact with fans, but this is something that trended on Facebook years ago.

Google has reportedly stepped back heavily on Google+ development, dropping 1,000 people from the project between 2013 and 2014. The leader of social, Vic Gundotra, also left Google a few months ago.

TagsChris Messina, advertising