Google plus isn’t going anywhere anytime soon unfortunately, but the hype you refer to that happened at the beginning was just that – hype. They had so many adopters at the outset because they basically gave it to you if you already had a google account. Still, despite I use many, many google products, I stayed away. Facebook was simply so much better, and in many ways still is.
Anywho, Google still has big plans for G+ and just will not let go. Their most recent change was to remove Google Places and basically migrate it over to Google Plus Local. Also, your default web search will usually be G+ integrated feature called “Google Plus Your World”, so there’s lots of people now getting personal results based on Google Plus when they search the engine. You have to switch it off manually most of the time.
Another thing they did has to do with blogging. They gave blog writers and web content authors a way to build authority for themselves on the internet and be personally recognized in the search results for content they publish online. But taking advantage of this feature requires a solid tie-in with the author’s Google Plus account.
Many web marketers and SEO’s are very aware of what G+ is doing, and where it’s going, and not too many ppl are happy with it. Nevertheless, it’ll probably keep going and growing, and we’re all a captive audience along for the ride.