Last time web marketing would-be monolith Google+ got a mention on this blog, it was because a Google engineer had accidentally made public a blog post in which he described his company’s flagship social media platform as a ‘pathetic afterthought’. Oops.

But while Google+ may still be lagging some way behind Facebook in terms of popularity (like a limping snail trailing behind a fleet-footed cheetah, if truth be told), it has just received a boost courtesy of the news that Barack Obama has created his own profile page.

Well, likely someone else did the page-creating for him, given that the President of the entire US of A likely has more pressing matters to attend to than assuming personal command of his own web marketing drive.

Because make no mistake, Obama’s arrival on Google+ is all about self-promotion. He and his team were widely lauded for their innovative approach to online fundraising during his successful 2008 run to the White House, and with him facing a tough re-election fight next year, he needs to get that winning machine back up-and-running, and sharpish.          

In terms of that fight, the downside for Obama is undoubtedly that the American economy remains sluggish. On the plus side, he is facing an ostensibly clownish field of Republican challengers, including Herman Cain (see the below clip).   

Obama’s web marketing power remains most potent via Twitter; indeed, his is the sixth most popular profile to follow (he is sandwiched between Britney Spears and Shakira, likely making Bill Clinton exceedingly envious). However the Prez’s arrival on Google+ is still sure to give the newer platform a useful leg-up on the popularity ladder as it seeks to claw back ground on its main rivals.      

Want to know what the Google+ fuss is all about? Then start by checking out the Spectrecom page.