Google+ or 'Google Plus' is Google's latest brainchild, a social network to rival both Facebook and Twitter. I was fortunate enough to be given an invite just days after its initial launch, and have been using it happily since. I have a good idea of where its benefits and drawbacks lie, and a good idea of how to use it to its full potential.
Why Google+ is like Twitter
You can add people to your circles, which are a bit like Twitter's lists - only much easier to manage with a swanky drag and drop interface. You can add as many people as you like to your circles, and filter and share posts based on them. People are under no obligation to add you back, but unless they do, you will only see their public posts. You can re-share content, but messages can be over 140 characters in length.
Why Google+ is like Facebook
It is very easy to have a conversation on Google+, as people can comment on posts you submit (so long as you don't disable comment posting). There is also a '+1' button similar to the 'like' button for posts and individual comments. This gives much more of a community feel to the whole Google+ experience. You can post links, photos, videos and more to Google+.
Steps To Becoming a G+ Guru
Get Signed Up
You'll need to grab an invite. I'll happily send you one if you comment here with your email address, or email me at kachii@gmail.com.
Complete Your Profile
Choose a good profile photo and a good tagline to appear underneath your name - these are the things that people are most likely to use to identify who you are and which circles to put you in. It also helps to list links of all of the other social networks you can be found on for people to recognise you.
You can start by adding me, and your Facebook friends by following the aforementioned guide to migrating Facebook data to Google+. Then perhaps take a look through the groups at group.as to find people with similar interests. Don't be afraid to add people, the worst that can happen is that they won't add you back, but you can still interact on their public posts.
There are many different ways of interacting on Google+, and don't just involve telling the world what you happen to be doing at this instant. Post related updates to circles of people who have a common interest, comment on other people's posts, create a poll, share links, videos and photos from the web, or upload your own. You can even join a hangout and video chat online... something I've not been brave enough to try yet!
Make The Experience Better
Dig in to the countless online services and extensions available for both Chrome and Firefox that will make your Google+ experience much better. Here are a few of my favourites:
gplus.to allows you to create a special short URL for your Google+ profile URL, you can visit mine at gplus.to/maccath
Start Google Plus for Chrome and Firefox allows you to cross-post to Twitter and Facebook, and view your Twitter and Facebook feeds in your Google+ stream.
Google Plus Minus for Chrome allows you to choose exactly which circles show up in your stream, instead of having to flick through individually.
People have spoken about Twitter and Facebook becoming obsolete with the introduction of Google+, but I don't believe it to be true. Google+ is a beautiful Twitter-Facebook hybrid, but I still use Facebook to share things with close friends, and Twitter to publically share nonsensical little things on a whim. Nevertheless, Google+ is a great addition to the social media arsenal, and I hope to see you there!
I've been on a little bit of a social media kick recently, and with the release of Google+ I thought I might share what I consider to be my social media top ten. I don't blog enough geekery here!
Social media websites are a way of connecting with others and sharing what is happening in your life. They are a trend that has really boomed over the past few years, and you've probably heard of at least some of them! Social media websites can be topical, or they can be general - there's a site for everyone. I enjoy social media as a way of keeping up to date with real-world and on-line happenings.
Twitter is a place where you can share everything and anything. You can add links to videos, photos, websites, and other Twitter users in your 140-character 'tweets'. Connect with others by following them, share insightful or interesting remarks and people may follow you back! Add clickable hashtags (e.g. #knitting) to your posts to link to similar tweets. There are various Twitter applications available for mobile devices so you can tweet on the go. You can find me on Twitter as @maccath or @GP_Katy.
Facebook currently has over 500 million users worldwide which makes it the most popular social networking site ever created. Make a profile, search for your friends, update your status, upload photos, play games, create events and keep in touch. There are a wide variety of fan pages that you can 'like' and comment on. Facebook is a lot more personal than many other social networking sites, and I mainly use it to keep in touch with old friends - people I may not have kept in touch with otherwise. You can find me under Katy Ereira.
Foursquare is a location sharing social network. Connect with your friends and check into venues around the world - pubs, restaurants, offices, shops, gyms, train stations and more - to gain points and special badges. If you frequent a place often enough you can earn a mayorship. Leave tips for other visitors to try out, and discover new places near you using the Foursquare search. Because Foursquare is location based you need a mobile device (iPhone, Android, Blackberry etc.) to play. I can be found at Foursquare as Katy E. / Maccath
Flickr is a site where you can upload and share your photos, as well as discover other people's photography. A basic Flickr account is available for free, but a pay-for pro account has no limitations - highly recommended for shutterbugs. Visit the Creative Commons section to search for photos that are free to use under certain terms. There are a plethora of different groups under various topics that you can join and share your snaps with and create and partake in discussions. I can be found at Flickr as Maccath / k4chii.
Ravelry is a relatively new knitting and crocheting community. Thousands of patterns are linked on the site for you to browse and search through by yardage, weight, needle gauge, difficulty and more. You can add projects to your profile, upload photos, update your progress, and rate patterns. You can even display your project progress on your website using the Ravelry API. Unfortunately you need to be logged in to access most of the site. I can be found at Ravelry under the name Suinoko.
Wikipedia is a giant multi-lingual encyclopaedia written by anyone who wants to share what they know, and can used by anyone who wants to know anything about anything! Some of the things written on Wikipedia must be taken with a grain of salt since anyone can contribute. Check out the citations to find out where information was obtained from and judge its authenticity. It is said that if you choose a random article, click on the first article link in that article, you will eventually end up at Philosophy.
Forrst is an invite-only community for web designers and developers. It can be used to ask questions, share code snippets and previews of design work, and follow the work of other designers and developers. There isn't really very much to it, but it helps to keep on top of trends and news in the web development world - very handy if it happens to be your career! I can be found on Forrst as Maccath.
Tumblr is a microblogging service like Twitter, but slightly different. Your posts are not limited to a certain number of characters, but are usually short, sweet and frequent. Each post has a type - text, image, video, quote, link, audio or chat log - which is displayed on your 'tumblelog' accordingly. Posts can be reblogged by others - much like Twitter's retweet functionality. I mainly blog on Tumblr about World of Warcraft. My tumbelogs can be found at Maccath and Out of Character.
Last.FM is a music community. Its main function is to record what you are listening to through the Scrobbler, and post statistics on your profile page. People can see what you're currently listening to, your top artists, your top tracks, and compare musical compatibility. Using these statistics, Last.FM can recommend new music to you, and you can even listen to some tracks on-line! Find me on Last.FM as kachii.
10. LinkedIn (Social Networking for Professionals)
LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals. Your profile reads a bit like a CV - listing your educational achievements, previous work experience and special skills - so you can connect with people you could work with or for. Everyone knows how valuable contacts are in the business world, and LinkedIn could widen your circle of influence without even needing to leave the office. I'm of course listed on LinkedIn as Katy Ereira.
What do you think of social media, and which are your favourites?
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