Image by AFP/Getty Images via @daylife
For the past few days I've been a more regular Google + visitor, at the same time becoming more puzzled about Google +. What's it for? Is it even a social network? The answer seems to be that Google + is evolving in to a mature forum, or multiple forums, where members curate content, exchange ideas, and engage in discussion at a rather civilised pace. Does that make it a social network? I don't think so. It doesn't shriek like Facebook and it is not so reflex as Twitter. It is more Salon than Bar.
To illustrate: A couple of days back I saw one of my own pieces up there in a well curated format. The verbiage of my writing was gone and in its place a very neat package that drew your attention to the question: Is Social Business the Same As Social Media.
Denis Labelle, who at that stage was not in my circles, had taken the trouble to read and edit my original into something perfectly formed for a stream of issues and debates. That seems to be the purpose of Google +. Here's a look at how we curated a Forbes post:
I asked the question on my stream: What is the purpose of Google +? Is it about curation? Within a few minutes got a couple of very interesting replies, from Randal Lovelace and Brad Acker.
Randal:
It's more than curation, it's more fluid than that. It's about commonalities, sharing, responding, debating ideas and concepts. It is what you make it by which people you circle.
Brad:
....as soon as I started using Google+, i liked the way it imitated the best features of Facebook, but provided much more control over the newsfeed (by circle, by Sparks searches). I also love the ways you can use circles as personal filing cabinets, saving posts to a "To Be Read" circle, so that when you click on that circle, the posts you highlighted come to view in your newsfeed.
I use the Google+ hangout feature every day for my business, especially Google+ with extras, so that we can share documents and presentations and edit them live while looking at each other.
The only reason that Google+ is not everyone's favorite network is that Facebook has such huge gravity — people have put time into building their relationship network there and are not ready to race to a new, similar place to rebuild their network infrastructure.
Randal:
The only people I know on there (Facebook) are people I know in real life (mostly family) or people that I know from a car forum that I used to frequent. On G+, I've never met any of the people in person from here (though that would be a good time) - I have a much more diverse group of people to converse with, discussions and debates that I could never have on Facebook.
Brad:
The reason I think so many serious knowledge-promulgators, academics, and researchers (the geek crowd, haha) are using Google+ is not only for its nice collaborative tools and continuing drive to seamless integration of all Google products, but because Google is using Google+ +1's in its search return algorithms. Aren't posts in Facebook trapped inside Facebook's walls, unless Bing brings them to light because they are public, but who is using Bing for search?
I haven't fully formed a view of Google + yet but I get what Brad and Randal are saying - Denis spoke in the same vein. It's about really trying to explore what this connectivity means for us, rather than chasing the pack (or trying to lead it).
I'm on Google Plus. Do I say: follow me? That seems like a very inappropriate invitation in the context of Google + Anyway here is my Google Plus profile. I will change the photo soon - promise.
For people who use Twitter I am haydn1701.
