Why, you may ask ?
Comment with your real name...
Yeah, that's what did it for me. A recent update to YouTube more or less forces you to use your real name from Google+ to post comments. To put it simply: no way. I don't want to use my real name to post comments. I don't want some HR typing my name on Google to find everything about my life and hobbies. Finding all my comments about music, about anime or whatever else. I don't want to be stalked by some freak who disagrees with me.The bottom line is I like my comments to stay anonymous.
Google+, build it and they won't come
Now the question is: how much will I be missing by closing my Google+ account ?Hmmm, nothing really. I signed up out of curiosity and never used it since none of my friends use it actively. They all use Facebook, I use Facebook. When I checked Google+, it looked like an abandoned mall built in an arid desert. It's ugly, it's empty, it's depressing and boring.
Next in line: Gmail
What's a good replacement ?
Right now, I don't know of one. I'd really love to find one though, I never really loved Gmail, I only use it because it's convenient for having multiple addresses (since I have several websites). So since, I'm already moving away from Google+ and closing my YouTube account, I may as well clean all the Google stuff.Moving away from Google feels like when I first installed Linux, a breath of fresh air, a feeling of recovered freedom.
Conclusion
Google has become too intrusive for my taste, everyone has their threshold, it reached mine.Everything seems linked to your Google account and for what benefit ?