Google don’t get it. People don’t like to build just another friend list, unless it is something really cool. iMessage and Whatsapp uses your contacts, so you don’t have to add anyone into your friends. Also, people have hundreds of friends on Facebook, that’s why Facebook messenger works. I don’t know how it is in US, but in central/eastern Europe nobody have many friends on G+ or google talk and this service isn’t that much better to build another friends list. That’s why it’s going to fail
