Google Turns to 4Chan Creator In Effort to Revive Struggling Google+ Platform

4chan, the social community perhaps best know for its anonymous users and history with harassment, now has a direct connection to Google. 4chan’s creator has been hired to help turn around one of the digital giant’s most expensive failures, Google+.

Chris Poole, founder of 4chan, announced in a blog post on Monday that he would be joining Google’s Photos and Streams team. This is the division in charge of overseeing Google+ and other company’s various other social services. Google’s Vice President of Photos and Streams, Bradley Horowitz, later confirmed Poole’s hire.

On the surface, it might seem odd, but considering Poole’s experience with creating a passionate and extensive network of communities based largely on user interests, it could turn out to be a perfect fit. Especially as Google moves its social network farther away from being a Facebook competitor and closer to a digital community driven by specific interests.

“I can’t wait to contribute my own experience from a dozen years of building online communities, and to begin the next chapter of my career at such an incredible company,” Poole said of his new position in his Monday blog post.