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Sergey Brin fans test Google+ limits

Brin jumps on a Google+ Hangout video conference, triggering a rush of members of the social network to try to join in. Most failed.

Jay Greene Former Staff Writer
Jay Greene, a CNET senior writer, works from Seattle and focuses on investigations and analysis. He's a former Seattle bureau chief for BusinessWeek and author of the book "Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons" (Penguin/Portfolio).
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Jay Greene

Here's one way to stress test the new Google+ social network: start a video conference with Sergey Brin and let anyone try to get in.

Google Vice President Bradley Horowitz launched a Hangout--that's Google+ speak for video conference - at 5:44 pm PT today with Brin in attendance. A rush of Google+ users tried to jump into the conference. But since Google+ limits Hangouts to 10, many got messages that read "We're sorry, the Hangout looks to be jam-packed already. There's no more room!"

Brin didn't stay long on the Hangout. His name dropped from those on the call after a few minutes. And various others streamed through as well.

Chris Schrier, a systems engineer at Google, was apparently one of the ones who got in when Brin was participating.

"Sergey Brin didn't hang out long," Schrier posted on Google+. "We did see his kitchen though."

Google+ message for denying access to an overbooked Hangout video conference with Sergey Brin. Screenshot by Jay Greene/CNET

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