14 DAY TRIAL // Google is running into the same online identity issues that Facebook has had to deal with, for the very same reason, Google+ requires users to provide their real names on their profiles. Users with aliases or pseudonyms risk getting their profiles suspended.
The company has already disabled Google+ accounts that don't use real names. Google has made this very clear from the beginning, even before Google+ launched, in its Google Profile pages.
But now that the social network is becoming increasingly popular, more people are coming out criticizing Google on the decision and even arguing that Google 'doesn't get social.'
The arguments related to Google+ has been brewing for several days, but the discussion is much older.
Essentially, it boils down to two camps, one saying that pseudonyms, anonymity and online avatars are essential to the web, the other saying that real names make for a safer and cleaner online environment. Whichever side you take, Google's decision is pretty clear.
"Google services support three different types of use new window when it comes to your identity: unidentified, pseudonymous, identified. Google Profiles is a product that works best in the identified state," Google explains in a help page.
"This way you can be certain you’re connecting with the right person, and others will have confidence knowing that there is someone real behind the profile they’re checking out. For this reason, Google Profiles requires you to use the name that you commonly go by in daily life," it explains.
This is Google's official stance on the matter. Considering that Facebook has the same policy, that it tries to enforce, there aren't many incentives for Google to change this.
The problem is that those that would prefer anonymity don't have many choices. Twitter doesn't require users to have real names, but that's about it when it comes large social networks.