GROAN MY BRAIN HURTS (Or, “Yes, it’s a follow-up to one of my Google pieces, why do you ask?”)

Google is nervous about what everyone else is reading about the lack of people actually using Google+: 

• Google+ users: 3 minutes a month
• Facebook users: 7 hours a month

So Google invited Nick Bilton over to talk it out. You know, set the record straight with some numbers:

“About 50 million people who have created a Google Plus account actively use the company’s Google Plus-enhanced products daily, Mr. Gundotra said. Over a 30-day period, he said, that number is 100 million active user”

Problem is, Google still doesn’t provide the number of active users. Active users is the metric that most closely reflects the interest in — and therefore the health of — Google+.

As Bilton notes:

“Although these numbers sound impressive, the catch is that Google Plus-enhanced properties include YouTube, the Android Marketplace and Google.com, the company’s flagship search engine.” 

So, I’m a “registered user” of Google+ and happen to watch a video on YouTube — am I considered to be actively using Google+?

You may as well ask whether reading an article about Google+ is considered to be “actively engaged” with Google+.

Obviously not.

I’m not using Google+ when I’m watching a YouTube video. Some dimly lit, barely populated social network is the furthest thing on my mind when I check out “Apple Kills Star Trek.”

And if I do share a video on a social network, that’d be on Facebook.

If I “+1” a video, I could see why I might be considered active on G+. Facebook does the same thing with “Likes,” displaying what you’re liking on FB. 

But it’s not clear that’s how Google is counting this stuff:

“Yet Google contends that these numbers illustrate that more than 100 million people have signed up for a Google Plus account and are now actively engaging with Google Plus-related products across the company.”

WTF does “actively engaging” mean? Google’s not telling us.