It has been two months since google plus has launched in field trial mode and we all thought it’s a whole new social network competing with other social networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

One of the controversies surrounded around google+ was it’s real name policy where they requested to use real names or risk the chance of getting your google account suspended.

A week ago, NPR got a chance to talk to Eric Schmidt, Chairman of Google at Edinburgh International TV Festival and asked question about real names on Google+.

The question was “How Google justifies the policy given that real identities could put people at risk?”

Answer from Eric was,

Google+ right from the beginning was designed as a Identity Service (not another social network), so fundamentally it depends on people using their real names if they’re going to build future products that leverage that information.

Regarding people who are concerned about their safety, Google+ is a completely optional product that people are not forced to signup. If you are concerned you shouldn’t be using for Google+.

We totally agree that internet today lacks a true Identity Service but we don’t think people are looking for Google+ as an identity service – They are looking for a open social network with better privacy control, listens to their feedback and innovates as time goes.

Identity service could be altogether a new product or service that could be tightly integrated into all modern browsers of course with users consent.

Readers please share your thoughts about this in comments below, thanks.