Google Plus, launched in 2011, was Google's high-stakes attempt to challenge Facebook's social media dominance. However, it quickly became a meme for its perceived lack of active users, earning the nickname 'the ghost town' of the internet. The memes surrounding Google+ peaked when Google controversially required a G+ account to comment on YouTube, leading to massive backlash and parody. Today, Google Plus memes are used to represent things that are technically operational but completely ignored, or as a nostalgic callback to the era of forced social integration before the platform was officially sunset for consumers in 2019.