and even if you don't group your contacts, that's perfectly fine. there is nothing forcing you to do that. after-g+ gmail works exactly the same way it did before g+, only now it has the ability to send mail to any circles you've set up in google+.
It's not an egalitarian thing, I just don't think that social groups are that easily defined. Illegibility is really at the heart of it. The entire notion of circles strikes me as being naive and kinda creepy but mostly annoying.
For instance, I'd have all my f* buddies in the same group but not in the same circle. People who I don't want to discuss my stuff together I wouldn't have in the same circle, and this happens a lot.
That said, it's been a while I don't even use contact groups, I have just 2 lists: people I actively communicate with (time doesn't allow for a ton of these) and people I seldom communicate with, or whose contact I may or may not need. I've also learnt to delete people who I don't need or want in my contacts, and found it to be a great life-hack.
Another thing is that Google doesn't always make the best products. By far.
> As Blogger becomes an easily customizable face for a Google+ public stream, Tumblr will have more trouble succeeding with its blogging product.
I'm not sure if the author has used much of Blogger, but it is horrendous, and terrible if you want to do anything slightly more powerful than a simple blog. Wordpress completely outclasses it.