On June 28, 2011, Google launched a social network named Google+, more famously known as G+. Google-operated it, and the network was launched in an endeavor to compete with other social media networks. G+ was used to link other Google products like YouTube, Google Drive, and Blogger. The next thrust of Google, the service into social media networking, encountered robust growth in its starting years, albeit the usage statistics manifold, dependent on how the service was determined.