Google hopes to lure celebs to Google+

From CNET News.com: Google, apparently keen on moving beyond 10 million people on Google+, is working on a plan to attract celebrities to its new social network.

Central to the plan is the matter of verifying identities, according to a CNN report. Online identity matters are thorny on Google+, but they're particularly tricky with celebrities because of impersonation issues. I see seven Lady Gagas on Google+ right now, for example, and William Shatner's Google+ account was revoked and restored yesterday.

Celebrities can be magnets for mainstream participation in online services, drawing new users over the obstacles of account creation and up the learning curve. Google began with a techie in-crowd when it launched Google+ publicly three weeks ago, but the company prefers a broader population for its online services.

Brett Schulte, a Hollywood consultant who organizes social-media gatherings called Tweet House, said Google is considering options for identity verification including faxing in a driver's license copy, the CNN report said.

It's not clear if celebrities would be treated differently from the hoi polloi. Google could categorize them as "entities," its term for businesses, brand names, and other non-individual accounts. Google plans to begin testing corporate Google+ accounts soon.

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