Google released a stripped-down version of Google+ this week, suggesting the company may be scaling back on its social networking efforts. Launched in 2011 as a new competitor to Facebook, Google+ also served as a central hub for a number of Google products, and over time failed to gain the traction Google was seeking. According to The Wall Street Journal, the new Google+ focuses on connections via common interests rather than people, with two primary features: “Collections, which let users follow streams of content on topics like surfing or niche types of photography, and Communities, which let groups of people with the same interests join up and discuss topics like ‘Game of Thrones’ or painting.”