UPDATE: +BreakingNews, one of the first brands to join Google Plus, has had its account pulled as well. It had 20,000 followers when it was shut down. +CoryBergman and +StephanieClary are posting the Breaking News updates on their personal accounts until Breaking News is re-established on Google Plus.
This is a guest post from Kimberly Wilson, who founded SocialNewsDesk, a company that specializes in social media solutions for newsrooms. You’ll find her on Twitter @kimberly_wilson and G+ at +Kim Wilson.
True to its word, Google has shut down the KOMU G+ account. The station had amassed a significant following and had made headlines as an early adopter of Google+. If you navigate to its profile, this is what you’ll see:
KOMU Anchor, +Sarah Hill posted an obituary for her beloved station profile:
+Jen Reeves is KOMU’s New Media Director. She points out that Google’s enforcement of the “no brand” policy is random and perhaps even unfair. In fact, one of KOMU’s direct competitors, +KRCG Mid-Missouri just started a G+ profile and has not been shut down. Neither have several dozen other media profiles.
Google has been clear that it doesn’t want brands to participate in the G+ beta test. And it has promised that a business solution is coming soon. In the meantime, KOMU’s experience will likely give other stations second thoughts when it comes to devoting time and resources to G+ before brand profiles are ready.