So I know that 1 week does not an expert make. I hope that this little article will help you navigate a little quicker then I did when I started out.
I am just going to run down a few little tricks I picked up and hopefully help you find some interesting people to follow.
What we all need to remember is that Google+ is still growing, and it will have it's share of growing pains. With just one week in I have seen lots and lots of changes. They are listening to the users and tweaking as they go. What we also need to remember is that we are part of something pretty cool, this site is growing by leaps and bounds and it's not even open to the public yet. Some reports show that it already has 20m users. That is pretty amazing considering that all of them have been invited by people that were lucky enough to get in on the ground floor.
I am going to skip a lot of the beginners stuff. We are not going to talk about creating your profile, or any of that. We are going to skip right to the fun stuff.
First are your circles. What are circles. Think of circles like the circles of people you hang out with. Some are friends, some are family, some are crazy, some are geeky, some love to just hang out and have a good time. This is how you are going to want to set up your circles. Divide the people you choose to add to your circles up so it will be easy to keep up with them.
I picked up a bunch of folks I wanted to follow but my main stream was giving me a headache. This is how I sorted, yours will be different but this may help you get an idea. My marketing circle gives small business marketing tips, my geeks have updates on google+, cool new gadgets, and other geeky things, my social media folks talk all about using social media and most of them talk about growing your business using it. The photog group post beautiful images that makes me smile. The holding cell was developed for folks that are not impressing me much and may soon be booted out of the circles. Sounds harsh I know, but trust me you will get there too!
So lets talk a little about your stream. When you go to Google+ you will see all of the posts coming in from all of your circles. Now here is where it's a little bit like twitter. You can put people in circles without them adding you, and they can add you without you adding them. How cool is that. That means if you do not have them in a circle they can only see what you post "public". If you are not in one of their circles it works the same. I know, I know, confusing! But it is really not that bad. If you want to learn about posting to circles here is a video from Google that will tell you all about it.
Tip ~ If someone has you in a circle, but you do not have them in a circle, you can read what they have posted to you by clicking on "incoming". You may find that they have something interesting to say and even add them to a circle.
How it's like facebook ~ It allows for more conversation then twitter. You can see what people from all over think about that post and can even connect with them by adding them to your circles. That is what I like the most I think, no friend requests, no waiting to see if they like you back. You can just start following their public posts. Love that! That is very twitteresque (yes it's a word I just said it). But unlike facebook it does not limit your characters . It lets you post what amounts to a blog post and that is cool. You can add pictures, links, and video to the posts too. Oh, and don't forget that cool +1 button.
Yes that is my brother in a toga... who knows why, he's young. But as you can see the +1 lets Google see what people like. It can help boost that material in search results for others to discover as well. (At least that is how I understood it, I could be wrong.)
Well if you are not on Google+ yet and want in invite just email me from your gmail account and I will gladly add you, secretgardendecatur@gmail.com
Also if you are looking, for some interesting people to follow here is a quick list. This list will fill up your stream FAST so choose carefully, remember the holding cell I created? Some on this list are the reason. And if you love photography, here is another great list. I am sure by now there is a list for any hobby, just do a quick Google search and I bet you will find something.
Well that is all for now. I hope some of this helps you find your way around quick. If you have any questions I will do my best to find you an answer. Don't forget to add me to one of your circles. Here is my profile page.
*This just in ~ Looking for an easy to understand pictorial? Check this out! It is perfect! This one is getting a big +1 from me!
I am just going to run down a few little tricks I picked up and hopefully help you find some interesting people to follow.
What we all need to remember is that Google+ is still growing, and it will have it's share of growing pains. With just one week in I have seen lots and lots of changes. They are listening to the users and tweaking as they go. What we also need to remember is that we are part of something pretty cool, this site is growing by leaps and bounds and it's not even open to the public yet. Some reports show that it already has 20m users. That is pretty amazing considering that all of them have been invited by people that were lucky enough to get in on the ground floor.
I am going to skip a lot of the beginners stuff. We are not going to talk about creating your profile, or any of that. We are going to skip right to the fun stuff.
First are your circles. What are circles. Think of circles like the circles of people you hang out with. Some are friends, some are family, some are crazy, some are geeky, some love to just hang out and have a good time. This is how you are going to want to set up your circles. Divide the people you choose to add to your circles up so it will be easy to keep up with them.
I picked up a bunch of folks I wanted to follow but my main stream was giving me a headache. This is how I sorted, yours will be different but this may help you get an idea. My marketing circle gives small business marketing tips, my geeks have updates on google+, cool new gadgets, and other geeky things, my social media folks talk all about using social media and most of them talk about growing your business using it. The photog group post beautiful images that makes me smile. The holding cell was developed for folks that are not impressing me much and may soon be booted out of the circles. Sounds harsh I know, but trust me you will get there too!
Tip ~ If someone has you in a circle, but you do not have them in a circle, you can read what they have posted to you by clicking on "incoming". You may find that they have something interesting to say and even add them to a circle.
How it's like facebook ~ It allows for more conversation then twitter. You can see what people from all over think about that post and can even connect with them by adding them to your circles. That is what I like the most I think, no friend requests, no waiting to see if they like you back. You can just start following their public posts. Love that! That is very twitteresque (yes it's a word I just said it). But unlike facebook it does not limit your characters . It lets you post what amounts to a blog post and that is cool. You can add pictures, links, and video to the posts too. Oh, and don't forget that cool +1 button.
Well if you are not on Google+ yet and want in invite just email me from your gmail account and I will gladly add you, secretgardendecatur@gmail.com
Also if you are looking, for some interesting people to follow here is a quick list. This list will fill up your stream FAST so choose carefully, remember the holding cell I created? Some on this list are the reason. And if you love photography, here is another great list. I am sure by now there is a list for any hobby, just do a quick Google search and I bet you will find something.
Well that is all for now. I hope some of this helps you find your way around quick. If you have any questions I will do my best to find you an answer. Don't forget to add me to one of your circles. Here is my profile page.
*This just in ~ Looking for an easy to understand pictorial? Check this out! It is perfect! This one is getting a big +1 from me!
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