Google+ launches brand pages

Google+ has finally released its much-anticipated platform for brands and companies — something that will likely be welcome news to many eager media organizations.

KOMU-TV, the NBC affiliate owned by the University of Missouri in the Columbia/Jefferson City, Mo., market, was making use of Google+ to interact with viewers before the account was shut down by Google. The station has continued to use Google+, including airing interactive video chats called Hangouts on its new interactive newscast.

UPDATE: KOMU-TV has wasted no time in getting its page back up. Click here to view it.

In addition, numerous other sites had attempted to create accounts only to have them closed.

Google+ pages are still in the process of being rolled out to everyone, and users can see if their account is eligible for the upgrade here.

Google pages will allow companies to post a variety of content to a public stream. Other users will also be able to add businesses and brands to circles and +1 functionality is also tightly integrated.

The move is seen as a key component in boosting Google+ usage since platforms such as Twitter and Facebook already make it very easy for users to interact with their favorite brands, including TV stations.

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Along with the pages, Google+ is also rolling out a feature called Direct Connect, which allows users to use the plus sign to generate results that include Google+ pages.