Social Media 101 discussion

Google+ seems to be giving people headaches (because it is so vast) but the enormous amount of potential with this social media site is unmatched. Many will argue which search engine is the greatest on the world wide web (internet), but I have used and researched them all. Google to me is the best out there. And their product, Google+ is equally impressive. Google+ seems to work better while using Google Chrome as a browser, but it can be used on most browsers (fire fox, explorer, anything with Java).

Getting started: Head over to www.google.com/+ and create an account. If you have a YouTube account, you can connect the two. I strongly suggest you do this and create a YouTube account if you don't already have one. I'll create a YouTube 101 Discussion in the near future. Google+ excels as a social media site to post videos, and you can chat or video chat ("Hangout" function)from it (as long as your computer, laptop, handheld device is set up properly).

Once you create an account, make sure you upload a photo that represents you (or one of you) and a "cover photo." Then you should look for your friends, family, and acquaintances and invite them to "add you back," this is like a "Follower" on Twitter. This is also helpful when you start creating "circles."

Google+ Pointers:

A) Circles- What do they mean?? All a Google+ circle means is you and others are interested in various topics. It's similar to a "list" on Twitter. For example, let's say you have a bunch of friends who are associated to your Google+ account who are all writers. You can create a "Circle" containing these writers, and when you want this circle to know about something, you can post to them specifically. Don't worry, you can choose to include all your Google+ connections if you want so EVERYONE can see your post.

B)"Share what's new"- This area is where you can post updates to your day, life, month, year. Whatever you would like. You can put links in this section, or click below the box on the chain link and add a link that way. If you enter an appropriate URL, Google+ automatically searches for it. If it locates the URL, Google+ populates the box with the photo and link associated to your link, which is a familiar sight that people are use to seeing. When they are use to seeing it, they tend to select it.

C) As with most social media sites, you can connect several other social media sites to your Google+ account. You can do this through your settings section or through connecting "Apps" to your account. Google+ and YouTube are very compatible.

D) "+1's" So wrap your mind around what a +1 is. It is similar to a "like" on Facebook or a "Retweet" on Twitter. When you see something your connections or friends post you can +1 it, which shows your support for whatever it is the people are posting. Your posts and your friend's posts appear on your Google+ page, from newest to oldest. You can scroll through them and when you feel like it, you can click on the +1 button. When you +1 something, it goes from white to red, indicating you have already +1'd it.

E) "What's Hot"- This is a link to see what Google+ wants to push out to the millions of people using Google and Google+. You can see trending topics, popular posts, and people you may want to become friends with or learn more about. It is similar to the "home" function on Twitter or Facebook.

F) "Pages"- This is a great function that you can use to create a page about anything you would like, or add a page you have already created. I like to call it a "mini blog." I have the same picture I use on my blog as the cover photo for my page. Then I have a link to my blog on the cover page. It ties in my blog to Google+.


Well, I hope this helps some. Feel free to ask me questions about Google+. If I don't know the answer, I can get it shortly.

Thanks,

Chris

Dianne wrote: "This is wonderful. Here's a link that came across my email today that I think is appropriate. Still need to grok all of this but thanks again! http://janefriedman.com/2013/05/28/go......"

Good find. Jane Friedman is a GURU. Thanks for adding this article to the discussion :-)

Chris

Dianne wrote: "Chris, I'm really frustrated. I can put my photo up when I use the Google Chrome account but I have around 700 now on my explorer account and I cannot upload a photo. I've tried resizing, etc., all..."

One of the biggest complaints about Google+ is that it doesn't work on other platforms (such as Explorer). Looks like you got pass the issue based on your next reply :-)

Dianne wrote: "Okay, my whole thing looks bettere on Chrome. Now I'm wondering if I can take my Google+ contacts from my explorer site to my chrome site without individually doing them. Here's another article th..."

So when you go through Chrome an log into Google+ your contacts aren't there? That is strange. First thing I would do is log out of your browser (chrome) and log back using chrome. Then log into your Google+ account and see if your contacts are populated again. I had similar issues last night with Google+ not refreshing properly, and I was using chrome. Don't panic. This is normal for these pesky issues. They normally work themselves out. If your contacts don't come back, you will need to use the "help" function and go directly through Google+. Or you can do it manually, which stinks and is a pain.

The article you attached is something I suggest to people once they get going with Google+ I like baby steps with this stuff :-)

Let me know if your contacts come back. I had the same issue when I went from explorer to chrome, but they all came back.

Sorry you are experiencing this!

Chris

What happens when you try to upload the photo? Does it not recognize the photo, say it's too big or small, or just do nothing?

Chris

Are you trying to do a profile photo or a cover photo? Make sure you are trying to do a profile photo. Are you uploading the photo from your computer? You can upload the photo to your Google+ account, then make it your "profile" photo.

I noticed on your account you have no photos yet.


Chris

C.L. wrote: "Google+ seems to be giving people headaches (because it is so vast) but the enormous amount of potential with this social media site is unmatched. Many will argue which search engine is the greate..."

Thanks for a hugely informative post, Chris.

You bet buddy!! Hope you are having a great weekend!

Chris

I'm sorry Diane. It should not be so difficult. I bet you get a photo up quick when the tech comes by.

Chris

Hey, this was great to solidify a few questions I had. Thanks for condensing it!

Katie wrote: "Hey, this was great to solidify a few questions I had. Thanks for condensing it!"

I'm happy it helped Katie!! Hope you are having a terrific day! Spread the word about this group if you can.

Thanks,

Chris

Chris wrote: "Dianne wrote: "This is wonderful. Here's a link that came across my email today that I think is appropriate. Still need to grok all of this but thanks again! http://janefriedman.com/2013/05/28/goo..."

Thanks for this, the article is very informative

Ann wrote: "Chris wrote: "Dianne wrote: "This is wonderful. Here's a link that came across my email today that I think is appropriate. Still need to grok all of this but thanks again! http://janefriedman.com/..."

Good stuff right?!?!

Chris

Philip wrote: "Thank you for this information Chris. Some people I know have BlogSpot blogs but where not sure whether to bother with a + account; they are new to all this and a little overwhelmed by all the soci..."

If your friends want to promote something google+ is mandatory to have. It's too big and connected to Google. Huge for posting to tons of people. Try a "hangout" they are great!! Have a great day!

Chris

Marcy Kennedy nailed this!! Please check this out! Excellent reasons for using Google+

http://janefriedman.com/2013/05/28/go...

Philip just go for it!! I think you will enjoy using google+ let me know if there is anything I can do to help you or your friends!

Chris wrote: "Marcy Kennedy nailed this!! Please check this out! Excellent reasons for using Google+

http://janefriedman.com/2013/05/28/go..."

An informative article from Marcy. I've had a Blogspot linked to my G+ account for around three months now, but wasn't sure what to do with the G+ side of it! I certainly didn't know about Google Authorship. I'll give it a try. Thanks Chris.

Hope you like it J.E. You may like it!

Make sure you select the acquaintances feature in the "to" area then they all will get it!

Right above the green "share" button should be a "to" area. If you see your circles, select the circle for "acquaintances." Then hit "share." It should send to all of your acquaintances.

Hope this helps :-)

You can't directly send to Tiberr. But, in your message u can hashtag stuff and it will get posted. Hope this helps.

Hey Diane!

There are two ways to add your blog to google+ the first is to add a "page" to your account, and make the page your blog. You do this in the area to the left where it says "pages." Click on that an it will guide you through adding your blog as a "page."

Secondly, google+ has "google authorship." This is where you let google know EVERYWHERE ON the Internet where you contribute to writing. You can add your blog to the list of where you contribute. Here is a link about google authorship. http://searchenginewatch.com/article/...

I hope this helps.

Chris

Google, authorship is a Must. It's managed by Google, it tied into google+, and it's a way for all of your writing to be accessible in a central location. Literally everywhere on the Internet where you post something can be included. It's also gonna increase your visibility on google and the Internet.

Are you asking if a post you put on your blog is posted also on google+? If that is what you are asking, then it does not link up in that way. Meaning, every post you put on your blog will not automatically post to your google+ or google+ page. You can link your blog to those two, but you have to cut and paste your blog link to your google+ or google+ page when you post on the blog. Basically, Google was hoping to get fresh new content with it's users, instead of "retreads." Also, when you add to your google+ profile that you are a contributor to your blog, people who visit your profile will see the link to your blog that was as well.

Does this help? Sorry about the delay, crazy night last night....

Oh man, that's great about my book! And even better I'm helping you out with google+. Have a good day!

I find Google Plus to be more annoying than anything. You got to do it, but wish you didn't.

Hey Chris, I felt the same way for a long time about Google+ but it's grown on me. And, as you said, you gotta be on it. I have my blog, YouTube and other social media sites linked to it so I use it quite a bit. Good luck buddy :-)

~Chris

Dianne I see the stuff you post and you certainly understand Google+ now! Kudos! Have a great day :-)

Aww thanks! It's fun to help people ;-)

I agree C.L. Everyone wants to have their own social media site, hopefully no more will be popping up. Managing them all is very time consuming.

Thank you Diane!! I appreciate that!

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