Google+ took a big step toward being a more “normal” social network today, as Britney Spears passed Larry Page to be the most followed person on the service.

Move Over, Tech Celebs

Until now, the most popular people on Google+ have been technology celebrities, in particular first Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (who never posted to his Google+ account), then Google CEO Larry Page.

In contrast, the most followed people on Facebook and Twitter — more mature social networks — tend to be the same celebrities you find in real life, such as musicians and actors.

Spears Goes To Number One

Currently, Spears has 739,370 followers to her account on Google Plus:

Page has 739,241 followers to his account:

Might I Suggest A Celebrity…

Both Spears and Page are helped by being on the Google+ suggested user list.

For more about that, and how it has influenced those who are popular on Google+ and pushed the service into being more “normal” over time, see our previous story:

• Larry Page Ousts Mark Zuckerberg As Most Popular On Google+.

Lady Gaga, Eminem Remain Missing

Of course, Google+ still has a long way to go. With less than 1 million followers, Spears is well behind the 11 million who follow her on Twitter and the 15 million who follow her on Facebook.

Further, Google+ has yet to see the reigning celebrity at Twitter — Lady Gaga — even arrive.

At Twitter, Lady Gaga is the most followed person according to Twitter Counter, with 16 million followers. At Facebook, according to All Facebook, Lady Gaga is the third most popular real life celebrity on the service, with more than 45 million followers.

On Google Plus, I can’t find any personal page for Lady Gaga that looks real. I do find one brand page that might be real, though with only 1,300 followers, it’s hard to tell.

At Facebook, the most popular real life celebrity is Eminem, with 49 million followers. At Twitter, he’s the 14th most popular account with over 7 million followers.

At Google Plus, if Eminem is there, I can’t tell. Several pages appear for him, but not are very popular nor verified to indicate they are real.

Postscript: More Google+ news today, see Barack Obama Joins Google+

Related Topics: Channel: Social | Google: Google+ | Top News

About The Author: Danny Sullivan is a Founding Editor of Search Engine Land. He’s a widely cited authority on search engines and search marketing issues who has covered the space since 1996. Danny also serves as Chief Content Officer for Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo conference series. He has a personal blog called Daggle (and keeps his disclosures page there). He can be found on Facebook, Google + and microblogs on Twitter as @dannysullivan. See more articles by Danny Sullivan

Connect with the author via: Email | Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn