Google+ celebrated nearing the end of its first full calendar year as a social network by publishing this infographic displaying highlights about the network achieved in 2012:
![Google+ 2012 Infographic](https://www.hivedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Google-Infographic.jpg)
The infographic covers the following highlights and achievements of Google Plus in 2012:
- The rapid growth in users (500 million accounts / 135 million active users)
- The creative use of Hangouts (everything from Hangouts from the International Space Station to 17 Hangouts with US Presidential candidates.
- Over 200 professional sports teams active on Google+
- 168 top fashion brands and 39 supermodels (can we get a Shared Circle of those models, please?!?)
- Over 2000 hours of breaking news coverage
- Over 50 of the Fortune 500 companies
- Over 600 verified musicians and bands
- Nearly 800 verified celebrities
- 8 Hangouts with the White House
Obviously Google is proud of its first successful social network, and obviously they have not wavered on their commitment to it. But despite these achievements, Google+ still is not perceived by many as a mainstream social network. But if you’ve been following this blog, you know that there is so much more under the hood for marketers and businesses that those social media experts don’t seem to get.