Social Networking with Google+

Wait, what the heck is going on? Almost all of us have fallen in love with Facebook as the number one way we stay tapped into the lives of those we know and supposedly love. So why would any of us need another seemingly more complex approach to how we “friend” people?

Google+ seems superfluous until you look at it for the smart move that it really is.

On Facebook all of our “friends” (who are not really all “friends,” by the way) get to see all of what we’re up to, unless we are careful to assign each friend a specific level of access to what they see. If we don’t do this, our boss gets to see crazy wedding pictures and old girlfriends get to see that we’re no longer “single.”

Yikes, that is potentially a mess.

But do I want to abandon my precious way of doing things? And why would anyone really do that?

Here’s the answer…because it’s Google.

Google was smart enough to understand that these “circles” (“circles” let you organize people into groups for sharing across Google products and services) make perfect sense in that they keep your work life separate from your social life. Some could cross over, but there are things that you are willing to share with one circle that you would never share with another circle.

But does the world really need this? Do you have time for Google+? Isn’t it just another thing to do?

No.

Who do you have your free email accounts with?

Who do you turn to for images?

Who do you get your RSS feeds from?

Who runs all of that?

Google. They know exactly what they need to do in the coming 10 years to be the premier social circle provider.

From your photos in one circle to your videos in another, to the fact that no one can peek in if you do not want them to, Google+ is actually ahead of its time.

For this to work, you need to create your circles and you need to be as specific as possible as you can with them.

You need to look at the massive interaction you will get if all of your Google properties are talking to one another in a strategic way.

You need to start establishing yourself on Google+ right now.

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk / Foter.com / CC BY-NC