My take on Google Plus: From zero to (plus) sixty in 24 hours flat

July 14, 2011   |   Posted in For Entrepreneurs, Social Web   |   ShareThis  |   19 Responses

I’ve thought about keeping my mouth shut about Google Plus.It’s really tempting to just…not get into that conversation. Who hasany freaking clue what it’s going to kill or who’s going to be using itsix months from now? No one.

But I can’t resist. Must. Give. Two cents. Does narcissism know no bounds?

The thing is, I’m amazed at how quickly I went from non-plussed(heh…I’m funny sometimes) to holy cow, this is the best thing ever. Tothe point where I’m starting to suspect that my Twitter feed is ajumbled mess in comparison (blasphemy!) and that Facebook is the mostinefficient waste (which is a bit of an exaggeration, but still). Andjust a couple of days ago, I was perfectly fine with them.

I blame these stupid circles!

First of all, I am going to forever be calling it Googley-Poo because of Chuck’s awesome article on his initial reactions (hat tip to Califor sharing. I laughed forever.) And at first I shared his frustrationwith circles — who really wants to categorize every single personthey’re following? It seems…hard. And…I don’t wanna.

But I could totally see the value. I can share my family stuff withother moms and dads who will nod in appreciation at the cuteness. I canshare stuff with the folks that are doing the Hot Dates…and only them. Ican pay more attention to what our clients are doing. I can pay lessattention to anyone who I don’t have any kind of connection to. Butagain…hard?

Well, it’s turning out to be not hard at all. Probably because it’sabout starting completely over. I’m not having to go through andcategorize 5,000+ Twitter followers. I’m not trying to “migrate”anything or obtain ridiculous numbers. It’s new. I’m starting fresh. I’mstarting intentionally. And I can take all of the stuff I’ve learned(good and bad) and apply it to the way I use this new network.

And also because Google Plus makes adding people to circles soextremely easy and fast. If you already have them created, it just fallsright into your workflow. If you don’t have them created, you’ll begoing more than a little bit nuts trying to figure out where to putpeople.

It’s circle time! Gather ’round children.

My epiphany was when I discovered that there are really two “types”of circles that I needed to create. One type for listening and one typefor sharing. And then I have a third type for bookmarking that I haven’tstarted using yet.

I also did a little naming kung-fu to get the same types of circlesto show up alphabetically together. Examples, you ask? Why sure!

Circles for reading

Nearly everyone I follow has a main “thing” that they talk about andare interested in. And it’s pretty simple for me to decide what that ison the fly (except for people I’m test-driving…more on that later).Circles I’ve created for that:

• *Respect: This one has an asterisk next to it so that it shows up at the very top of my circles. Kind of like in Gmail when you have a label that you want to show up at the top of the list for easy access. This circle is for people that I respect in a deep way. People who consistently help me to grow with the conversations that they have and the things that they share. It’s really important to me to surround myself with people who grow my thinking rather than repeat the same things I tell myself all the time.
• *Weekly: This is a circle of people who I’m interested in at the moment. And I update it weekly (hence…the weekly part).
• a | Art + Design: This one has an “a” in front of it to keep it with the other like-minded circles. Pretty much everyone I follow goes in one (rarely more) of the “a” circles.
• a | Business + Marketing: Funny, there are SO many people in this circle. It makes me laugh. We’re all marketers marketing to…each other. Makes a strong case for getting outside of your social networks to reach new clients and customers.
• a | Social Change: People who make a difference.
• a | Web + Tech: Nerds like me.
• a | Writing + Publishing: Professional writers/publishers/people in the book industry.

I’m sure I’ll add more as I get to know more people on Google Plus,but I’m asking myself, “Is this a topic I’m really interested in thatadds to my knowledge and experience?” before creating a circle for it.Or before adding someone to a circle for that matter.

Circles for sharing

These are more toward the default circles that Google Plus starts you out with. Right now, mine are as follows:

• b | Acquaintances: Notice these are all “b” circles. To keep them together, you know. These are people that I know in real life but that I’m not close to.
• b | Clients: So that I can keep up with them more closely and regularly.
• b | Collaborators: People I’m currently partnering with/have partnered with in the past/am talking about partnering with in the future.
• b | Friends + Family: Mostly people who have no idea what I do for a living and think I speak another language (it’s baby pictures for them, all day).
• b | Hot Daters: So I can keep an eye on the people in the Hot Dates group (and send updates to them and only them). I’m also thinking about using the “Hangout” feature with them in the future…I think that’d be a cool way to do an impromptu live video Q+A session.
• b | Local: So that when I’m posting about the amazing restaurant that I’m at, I’m sharing it with people who actually care and can use that information.
• b | Loves Jesus: I’m really aware and respectful of other beliefs/backgrounds/hurts/skepticism around “religion” (I hate what that word means to so many people), but I would love to be able to share stuff I’m reading/experiencing in my spiritual life with people who won’t find it irrelevant or judgmental (judgmental-ism is something I both loathe and am hyper-aware of).
• b | Met in Person: People who I enjoy online that I’ve actually met in real life. These connections are usually stronger than the internet-only ones that I have (though not always).
• b | Moms + Dads: Again, so I’m sharing pictures and family stuff with people who won’t be bored to death by it.
• b | [name of studio goes here]: Haha…I’m not quite ready to spill the beans on the new name for S.Joy Studios. But it starts with a letter somewhere between M and T. This is a list for our team. I can’t wait to try using it for collaboration.
• b | Test Drive: People that I’ve found that seem interesting, but that I don’t know yet. As I get to know them, I’ll either remove them from the Test Drive list (if their info isn’t relevant to me) or I’ll put them in a more permanent circle.

Another thing I’m thinking about: Having a circle for folks who aresubscribed to my sneak peeks list. That way, I can sharebehind-the-scenes info with them in a more impromptu way than an emaillist allows.

I. Am. Excited.

You can add me/see what I’m doing with it here. Are you on Google Plus? How are you using it (or not) so far? Am I the biggest nerd ever? (Don’t answer that.)