Google+ Celebrity Acquisition Plan In The Works

Only a little over two weeks old, the Google+ social platform has amassed a huge user base before it's even stepped out of beta. Not only that, but Google has actually been deactivating accounts including those created for businesses, those with pseudonyms, and some celebrity accounts. The platform is just not ready yet for anything other than personal accounts at the moment, but that will change very soon.

A Hollywood consultant and social-media guru, Brett Schulte, has revealed that Google is working on a "celebrity acquisition plan." Attracting celebrities to use Google+ will boost publicity, but will also require Google to develop and implement a celebrity account verification process. In this day and age, it's very common for fake celebrity accounts to sprint up, sending out misleading messages that are damaging to the identity assumed.

For the validation process, Google is still trying to decide which route to take. Schulte suggests that one option they are considering will be to request celebrities to "fax" in a copy of his or her driver's license. But much more likely, Google will work directly with talent agencies and consultants, such as Schulte, to arrange verification requests.

Google may also create some sort of indicator badge or stamp to signify a verified account similar to what's done on Twitter. However, Google has refused to comment and very little is known as to when such plans would roll out. A similar offering for corporate accounts that will also require verification may start a trial period very soon. The Google+ team said that they would be announcing the selected businesses for the trial sometime this week.

[via CNN]