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I’m sure you’ve all seen the gaudy statistics when it comes to the gender split of Pinterest’s following – anything ranging from 72% to a staggering 97% of its user base has been reported as female.

The idea, it seems, is to allow everyone with an empty Google+ page—that'll be most of us, then?—to fill it up with content that has previously been posted online. It's a bit like buying a new house that you don't want to live in, then filling it with all your old junk from your adolescence so it looks used. Used, yes. Only a little hollow and depressing at the same time.

From the looks of this screenshot posted by one of our readers, it appears YouTube is testing a new homepage styled more like the look that recently rolled out on Google+. The current default look rolled out last winter with more focus on channels and social integration, while this new facade features more white space and list of channels and friends to the side. We asked YouTube about the new look and a spokesperson issued a boilerplate statement about experimenting with ways to help users find the videos that are important to them. The statement in full is after the break, however the key part is that they're listening to user feedback so take a close look at this pic and the rest at the source link below then let us (and Google) know what you think.

Google+ has been called a "ghost town," a "little version of Facebook" and "dead" since its launch last year. Users have continually questioned what it is and why they would want to use it. Google's senior vice president of social business, Vic Gundotra, attempted to rebut critics' claims during a panel at South by Southwest on Friday and defended Google+ against allegations that users are fleeing a stagnant service. Traffic has declined more than 30 percent in the past four months, according to one estimate.

For Google, it's personal. The Internet search giant is no longer going to roll out the same search results to everyone... It's doing this in three ways. First, it's expanding search beyond public Web pages to the photos and posts you and others have shared privately. Second, as you type a person's name into Google, it will automatically suggest people you are close to or may be interested in. Third, Google is guiding users to profiles and Google+ pages related to the topic of interest.

Google has added several new Google+ features and improved old ones, among them some of the most popular requests from users.

It appears that YouTube is getting a facelift. And Google+ might be a big part of the new look. Tech blog the Next Web was one of several whose staffers caught a glimpse of a redesigned interface on the massively popular video-sharing site.

The real test of Google’s social network is what people do after they join. As far as anyone can tell, they aren’t doing a whole lot. Traffic-analysis firms have consistently reported Google+’s traffic to be declining from its early peak. Even Google’s own executives seem to have gotten bored by the site.

The search giant's social network poses a further challenge to Facebook by allowing companies to set up their own pages. The US firm says the Google+ Pages facility will help companies and campaigns engage with their audience. Organisations will not be charged to use the scheme and Google says it will not put adverts on their pages.

Google is getting ready to press the mute button on Buzz, an online social networking service that turned into a massive faux pas.