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Kicking the Tires on Google Plus

by OsakaSaul on July 2, 2011

A first impressions @hikosaemon wrote: Kicking the Tires on Google Plus

“The fact that there is so much expectation around this, even on the third try for Google, goes some way to show the high hopes that many people have for Google finally succeeding in this area. I think there are various reasons for this. These include the “mid life crisis point” that we are reaching with Facebook to some extent – six years old and still the same blue page to log into, our eyes wandering as we worry whether this is going to be a lifelong commitment. All those small issues about privacy, site design, and the walled garden approach that used to be fine, bothering us more and more over the years. I guess the thing is that we want someone to come along that outdoes Facebook, if only just to get Facebook out of its SNS monopoly induced slumber and doing more to compete for us once again…”

( See this Amp at http://bit.ly/m5qvHJ )

 

To add, from an early-adopter of the best in social networking goodies, Patrick Allmond: “The best feature I can see so far is the broadcasting.  I can broadcast to groups and not bother others. The challenge now comes in creating groups and getting people all organized.  Also need to be away of group leakage i.e. people getting evil if they find out they are not in certain circles.  What kind of circles do you have? I can see mind being like my twitter lists: VIP, Poker, Pilots, Online Marketing, Oklahoma, fitness, affmktg.”

I shared this to some of my my circles and added the comment below.  The below, with Patrick’s original post went to Bloggers, KdL Web2.0 Social Media Group, Social Media Makers (a Triberr Tribe), but did not want to pester my “bigshots” circle, “Tech Stars”:
While I have yet to try a hangout, I vehemently agree that the thing to love is the ease of directing posts to specific audiences.  We are going to have more refined feeds than we see in Facebook, I believe.
About Saul Fleischman

Working with social web apps developers on getting things made: my role tends to be functionality ideation, user experience, and also, marketing communications and community development.

su.pr size it! http://su.pr/8ObO36

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  • Anonymous

    Cheers for the plug mate, and good to have you on G+

    It’s a pain to be starting a new SNS from scratch, but the more I use it, the more I think that this is the one I want to commit to using now.  I’d love to read your impressions when you’ve had a chance to get a feel for the site

    • Saul Fleischman

      thanks @hikosaemon:twitter I wonder, is it going to be better than FB? I don’t see it yet. Would be great if I could import #in or #Twitter contacts. Their find people thing finds not 1/3 of who I’m looking for ;-(

      • Anonymous

        Well, remember that the people on it so far are based on just 24 hours of invite only additions – given the openness of the site, I think I will get a good chunk of my Twitter followers over there the next time they open up, and I will push to get FB followers over.

        As I said in my blog, the two killer features so far for me are group video chat (for family use), and unlimited photo uploads AND publishing. And this is without Apps, that I read are coming, and without YouTube yet being integrated as I am certain it will be.

        As someone primarily with a YouTube based subscriber following, proper YouTube integration will be decisive, provided it is done right. 

        Point is, I think even in a very early, very buggy, and clearly limited beta tester user release, I can already see it beating FB for functionality. And the openness of Twitter will make it easy to switch. 

        Adoption is of course the key issue, but the rush for invites, and “status” associated with getting them is already pretty notable. I think you’ll see a lot of top twitter people get on early for the status, and when third party tools get the API to funnel tweets into G+, and people discover the better add-on functionality there, you will see more uptake on the site. Early days yet – though. For me, I just can’t wait for a Hootsuite addon for it, and posting from Twitter APIs. 

        • Saul Fleischman

          I am sure @hikosaemon hootsuite will integrate #googleplus as will my linksalpha WP plugin (for sharing from my blog). As you say, when I find the multi-user videochat better than SKYPE, I will be instantly hooked on G+.

  • Samantha Bangayan

    I so loved this quote, Saul! Thanks so much for introducing me to @hikosaemon:disqus ! =)

    It’s true that Facebook has been growing old in more ways than one. I’ve had more than a few friends who have refused to use it because of privacy concerns that I think Google Plus addresses very well!

    As for my first impressions, I’m definitely liking it, but after reading @hikosaemon:twitter ’s comment, I’m now anxiously waiting for YouTube integration and apps! =)

    • Saul Fleischman

      Thanks @samanthaluy:twitter Hiko is another foreigner and long-time resident of Japan, and a hell of a blogger.

    • Delores Williams

      I think you get in at the beginning so you can grow with it. Get in later and it will have a vibe that may be difficult to catch up with. It doesn’t need to integrate a lot of junk. Here is what I see on there. People are talking to each other. A post can get hundreds of comments, shares, etc where on twitter, very little, and that is even for the big guys. Jay Baer said on an article I was reading that the conversation has been killed on Twitter due to certain factors and as someone who has been there at least 3 years I can agree. It has moved to way too much junk and self promotion with little engagement. Sad, but true. Oh, and the hangouts are worth Google+ alone.

      • Saul Fleischman

        Thanks for terrific insights @twitter-9637422:disqus I just flunked a @patrickallmond:twitter G+ hangout attempt, but love the concept. SKYPE is many times smoother – for now, at least.  Are hangouts working okay for you? Please check out the thoughts from Patrick that I added to the body of this post – on what we find making G+ great initially.

  • Anonymous

    My view on Google is somewhat perplexing. I currently use Blogger as my blogging platform, Gmail for emails, and Google reader, yet the though of a another social network makes me somewhat cringe. I don’t NEED another social network. I have plenty. But on the other side of the coin, I do like Google.

    I think I just need a Google + invite to settle my indecisiveness. :)
    Anyone? :P

    PS: Great having you as a tribe member Saul.

    • Saul Fleischman

      Thanks, Dave, and Google+ is a breeze to learn. Potentially better than Facebook. Facebook i actually blocking an app that would let us export FB friends to Google+!
      A fr invite, just DM me your email address, I’ll take care of it.

      • Anonymous

        Cool… I appreciate you helping me out! Now I’ll be able to make a proper assessment :)

  • Knikkolette Church

    While I’m still learning G+, I have to say I’m finding it very intuitive and liking what I’ve seen so far.  Glad to have you in my “circle” and happy you invited me into your “tribe”. :)

    • Saul Fleischman

      Thanks, always, @knikkolette:twitter and hope you’ll see the second half of the blog post that I just added; the ability to share to some circles & not others is what is going to make our G+ stream less junk-laden than what we get in Facebook, I believe.

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    Google is giving its all to Plus network. So much that some old engineers have left google saying that they have lost their innovative streak long before. I would like to see how long Gogle will take it to close it like Buzz. This is truth- it has not reached the non-geeks till now. Average time spent by a user on Google+ is only a few minutes in a month whereas it is to many hours on FB. See for yourself how much time do you stick to your plus profile in a month. Did you even visited it in last 3 days.

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