Google+ doesn't get much respect right now, thanks in part to reports that sign-ups are high but engagement is low. These reports don't seem to phase Google's VP of Product Management for Google+, Bradley Horowitz. Rather than worry about matching Facebook and Twitter feature-for-feature, Horowitz is focusing on "long-term ambitions that are beyond the scope of the today’s competitive landscape."

We sat down for an interview at the Google+ Photographer's Conference yesterday for a discussion about where the service is headed and how it's attempts to woo the community of professional photographers could be touchstone example of how Google thinks about social — and how to monetize it.