The Viability of Google+

This is a guest post by Alvina Lopez, if you want to guest post on this blog, contact us.

Google+ has been available for a few months now and it’s proven itself as a worthy entry into the ever-shuffling lineup of social media tools. If used properly, a person can integrate Google+ into their social media lifestyle with ease. The service has been designed with such an eye for user friendliness that comparable social media titans like Facebook seem clunky by comparison. Don’t worry if you’re new to Google+ or if you’re on the fence about starting your profile; here are some tips to familiarize yourself with what may be the next big thing in online social media.

Your Circles

When you first set up your profile, Google+ will ask you to add people into your circles. As you may have read elsewhere, these circles are where Google really differentiates themselves from their social media competitors. You can look up and add contacts to your circles by simply dragging the contact’s name into a circle. Google+ provides you with the basic circles of “Friends,” “Family,” and “Acquaintances,” but these circles are completely customizable. You can organize your shared content by circle, so you can share the right information with the right people. With Facebook and Twitter, everything you share is instantly accessible to all your friends and followers. With Google+ you can share personal information with friends, professional data with coworkers and family pictures with your relatives, all without having to leave the Google+ dashboard.

Your Stream

The stream on your Google+ profile is where you share content. Similar to Facebook’s wall or Twitter’s feed, the content on your stream can be viewed, commented upon, and shared by your friends. Who can see your stream is determined by those in your circles. You can organize a stream only visible to your family members while simultaneously maintaining a stream of entirely different content with your closest friends. You’ll notice a “+1” icon next to every post on your streams. These +1’s are similar to Facebook’s “like” button. However the +1 button help you categorize the content that you find particularly interesting, and your friends can view your +1’s so they can see the best of what you have to share.

Integration with other Google services

If you use any other Google services regularly (gmail, Google reader, Google news, etc.) then you’ll enjoy a seamless transition to Google+. Above your Google+ dashboard you’ll have access to all your other Google services without toggling between pages. This perk proves particularly useful when you’re first setting up your Google+ profile as Google will draw from your other contacts from these services as potential friends.

All in all Google+ is certainly worth giving a try, especially if you’re looking for a fresh start with your social media usage.

About the Author

Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.