They could make it so that when you +1 a page that it shows up in your timeline.  I also think they have to do more to seperate themselves from being "just another Facebook".  I think G+ has become the terciary social media choice behind Facebook and Twitter.  A lot of people including myself simply don't have the time to adequately manage three different social accounts effectively.

I would argue some of your points above -- Google+ doesn't seem nearly as buggy to me as Twitter was in its early days of user growth, for example. Underdeveloped? Yes, to some degree that's certainly true. (But Google would argue that that it's a beta or "field test" or whatever wording they've been using.) I think they're certainly feeling some pressure to launch new things and compete in the "features arms race" that seems to be gripping social networking sites these days.

But to answer the question, the main thing Google needs to do is make the case to Regular Users that Google+ offers enough value to get them to use it, either at the same time that they use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or whatever ... or instead of using those other sites. Right now, I just don't think they've built a product that's compelling enough to change people's habits. It's not that G+ is bad, it's just that it needs to be great to shift online activity.

Right, it seems like they've built Google+ as near to a direct copy of Facebook as they possibly could. It, like many Google products, created a big buzz and launched big but died off quickly. It just needs more originality. And the "Circles" concept was short-lived.

What could Google do to make Google+ actually work?

Buy Facebook?

Heh, @Jill, awesome.

Acquisitions are sometimes like having a tantrum with millions of dollars. Big baby corporations...

But seriously, I think that's the only way. They have to have some way to kill Facebook, because I can't see both G+ and Facebook existing.

Unless, of course, G+ becomes more of a niche place, sort of like LinkedIn which seems to be more of a place you go to if you want to professionally network, especially in terms of getting a new job or hiring employees.

But as a general social network where college kids share their drunk photos...I don't think so.

Jill, I share much of your feelings... With their business page public launch, it's only reconfirmed that they're just trying to be Facebook, but apparently with fewer features, a shrinking userbase, and a series of unrealized potential. I wrote a post just last night aboot it (relevant linkdrop): http://www.whitefireseo.com/social-media/google-business-pages-another-half-baked-attempt/718/

It frustrates me how often Google seems to miss the point with their product launches.

Can I see Google+ in my Twitter client?  No?  Hmmm....