Google+ just celebrated their first year on June 28th.
So, who cares?
Well, perhaps not every one of the 250 million people who created Google+ profiles do, but maybe the 75 million active monthly users who log in everyday marked the occasion with a +1.
There are 2 reasons we use social networks:
1. We enjoy sharing personal information and interests with friends, family and acquaintances.
2. We use it to connect with current and prospective clients.
There’s been much debate regarding the “sociability” factor of Google+.
Some say that it’s a ghost town, others, that it’s a male dorm room filled with smelly socks and sweaty geeks.
Fact is, there’s a vibrant and diversified professional and personal community there.
Whether Google defines G+ as a “social network” or not, if social means conversation, engagement and communities, then as they say; if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck …
No friends; No Problem
Even if your friends aren’t on Google+,you can interact with them from your Google+ account to anywhere in the Google Universe; YouTube, Google Search, Google Docs Gmail etc..
Want to get started on Google+?
If you’re just getting started with Google+ or have started but feel that you’re not making the most of your experience there, I highly recommend the first thing you do is circle Denis Labelle.
He’s sort of the Willy Wonka of Google+, giving newbies tours of its many features and helping them make the most of their experience there.
But be careful. Like all things social, there are certain rules of behaviour. If you’re too greedy and self promoting, you may find yourself drowning in a river of jelly beans.
Here’s some links he recently shared to short Google+ introductory videos:
Profile / Circles / Photos / Events / Hangouts / Mobile / Local
Find people you know / Create Circles
Shout, speak or whisper: Google+ Sharing
Ray Hiltz is a Social Media Strategist with management roots in restaurant, hotel and performing arts.
A strong proponent for the power of collaborative communication and "humanized" digital networking, Ray writes about social media, social business and Google Plus.
His clients include hotels, restaurants, consulting firms, entrepreneurs, writers and individuals just trying to make sense of "social".
Ray is a popular speaker on Social Media, Social Business and Google+.
