Well for those who have been on g+ since the beginning it has been a hell of a ride. First just getting used to the way in which it works. A little bit in the sense of a manual but mostly in how we use it to communicate and work together. My apologies for the haphazard writing, but after 2 months g+ is still swirling around and I can't help but want to keep up with the breakneck speed of developments.
Developmental
And that is still where we are in a developmental fase. I am partly inspired to writing this by post by +Robert Scoble amongst others on women and something he wrote to +Vic Gundotra on what should be changed on g+ and a post on what makes g+ great in comparison to facebook. But also by +Louis Gray becoming g+'s blogger in chief. The real names issue which is still playing, which is a lot more important than we think on the issue of real people talking to real people. I stand on this issue that Google should go on with pressing that people use their real names on their g+ profiles. Also I think It should be decided upon average users voicing their opinion and not on those who scream: "Do you know who the hell I am?" (Well actually, no, because you're not using your real name.)
Feedback works
And Google shows that it listens to the feedback of the "average user" and changes are being made . How to order circles, comment collapsing. Interaction with Google employees, who are also the spokespersons for the company. And the g+ presence shows in the reactions by twitter and facebook in their adding of new functionality that there is real competition now in social media land.
Early adopters?
In a Hangout hangout organised by +David Bennett those present say that g+ gives a special feel. Is that because of the limited field trial where only geeks and other early adopter types are present? Or is it because there is something more going on?
How can you (potentially) use g+?
- use it as facebook
- use it as twitter
- use it as intranet
- use it as projectmanagement tool
- use it as photo portfolio
- use it as e-mail
- use it as a webconferencing tool
Anything else you would like to add?
You can communicate and share from person to person or from person to many or to a select group and all types of content and discuss it and find other people, and, and, and... G+ is like a replication of social relations. It turns the tables on the Scobles (sorry) and the gurus, social media experts, we are becoming each others curators. It is about the group and the original indvidual.
This is the iceberg that is under water, it is not explicit but it is why g+ is fundamentally different from twitter and facebook. the only online comparison I can think of is the eBay auction model. Which without the user knowing it exactly simulates the auction experience.
Rules
But there are no rules, no codes yet for how to interact except for the real names rule. Should they be here? Even though Google owns the platform we own the content and the connections. And we the individual users decide how this g+ thing is going to take shape. Civility is a common thing on g+ and it is important that people are real. I want to talk to real people not avatars. Games are also a good example. They are here, but not irritating. With businesspages I trust this will also be the case. An interesting article which locks into this is from http://youarenotsosmart.com/ right on the frontpage. Long but worth reading, because it is exactly what we are doing now!
There is a feeling of unease now. Where are we going, what are we supposed to do? A new frontier in social media. Til now it all has been covered, but here there is some new terrain. It makes people uncertain, but this is the fun part for me! And I long for the moment businesspages go live, because g+ is going to make a big impact on how businesses will have to change their activities. +Jason Calacanis is tackling this in his companies. Companies must be more social, but how do you do that? It is as much an individual personality thing as a cultural thing. Which relates very much to what motivates us.
Because there is real continuous development this could lead to a virtuous cycle of innovation and improvement. G+ is truly social. You can have conversations here and that means that if businesse want to particpate they will have to do real conversations. Another reason why it is important to be a real entity. Let's see what g+ will bring for businesses, but I bet it will be disruptive.
The big picture for the future
There is still a way to go for g+. The goals for Google as a company are obvious, take people and time from twitter and facebook. Dominating the social network area on the open internet is key to controlling the future of all web based services. If g+ keeps the lead in truly enhancing and improving the social online experience it positions itself to overtake Microsoft and Apple. That will happen through enhanced personal and group experience of sharing and innovation of cloud based services. Which if the competition tries to keep up is a good thing for us as people and as customers.
Developmental
And that is still where we are in a developmental fase. I am partly inspired to writing this by post by +Robert Scoble amongst others on women and something he wrote to +Vic Gundotra on what should be changed on g+ and a post on what makes g+ great in comparison to facebook. But also by +Louis Gray becoming g+'s blogger in chief. The real names issue which is still playing, which is a lot more important than we think on the issue of real people talking to real people. I stand on this issue that Google should go on with pressing that people use their real names on their g+ profiles. Also I think It should be decided upon average users voicing their opinion and not on those who scream: "Do you know who the hell I am?" (Well actually, no, because you're not using your real name.)
Feedback works
And Google shows that it listens to the feedback of the "average user" and changes are being made . How to order circles, comment collapsing. Interaction with Google employees, who are also the spokespersons for the company. And the g+ presence shows in the reactions by twitter and facebook in their adding of new functionality that there is real competition now in social media land.
Early adopters?
In a Hangout hangout organised by +David Bennett those present say that g+ gives a special feel. Is that because of the limited field trial where only geeks and other early adopter types are present? Or is it because there is something more going on?
How can you (potentially) use g+?
- use it as facebook
- use it as twitter
- use it as intranet
- use it as projectmanagement tool
- use it as photo portfolio
- use it as e-mail
- use it as a webconferencing tool
Anything else you would like to add?
You can communicate and share from person to person or from person to many or to a select group and all types of content and discuss it and find other people, and, and, and... G+ is like a replication of social relations. It turns the tables on the Scobles (sorry) and the gurus, social media experts, we are becoming each others curators. It is about the group and the original indvidual.
This is the iceberg that is under water, it is not explicit but it is why g+ is fundamentally different from twitter and facebook. the only online comparison I can think of is the eBay auction model. Which without the user knowing it exactly simulates the auction experience.
Rules
But there are no rules, no codes yet for how to interact except for the real names rule. Should they be here? Even though Google owns the platform we own the content and the connections. And we the individual users decide how this g+ thing is going to take shape. Civility is a common thing on g+ and it is important that people are real. I want to talk to real people not avatars. Games are also a good example. They are here, but not irritating. With businesspages I trust this will also be the case. An interesting article which locks into this is from http://youarenotsosmart.com/ right on the frontpage. Long but worth reading, because it is exactly what we are doing now!
There is a feeling of unease now. Where are we going, what are we supposed to do? A new frontier in social media. Til now it all has been covered, but here there is some new terrain. It makes people uncertain, but this is the fun part for me! And I long for the moment businesspages go live, because g+ is going to make a big impact on how businesses will have to change their activities. +Jason Calacanis is tackling this in his companies. Companies must be more social, but how do you do that? It is as much an individual personality thing as a cultural thing. Which relates very much to what motivates us.
Because there is real continuous development this could lead to a virtuous cycle of innovation and improvement. G+ is truly social. You can have conversations here and that means that if businesse want to particpate they will have to do real conversations. Another reason why it is important to be a real entity. Let's see what g+ will bring for businesses, but I bet it will be disruptive.
The big picture for the future
There is still a way to go for g+. The goals for Google as a company are obvious, take people and time from twitter and facebook. Dominating the social network area on the open internet is key to controlling the future of all web based services. If g+ keeps the lead in truly enhancing and improving the social online experience it positions itself to overtake Microsoft and Apple. That will happen through enhanced personal and group experience of sharing and innovation of cloud based services. Which if the competition tries to keep up is a good thing for us as people and as customers.
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