Google+ Pro Tips Round Up: Week 7

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This week, we saw the implementation of collapsed comments, Google+ games were rolled out to everyone, and yesterday, there were several more announcements of enhanced features and tweaks.

The Google+ Navigation Bar is Now Sticky

As revealed by +Andy Hertzfeld, the gray Google+ navigation bar right underneath the all-encompassing black Google bar will become “sticky”, or rather, it’ll stay at the top as you scroll down your Google+ stream. This minor change makes it possible for you to navigate to different areas within Google+ . The “stickiness” of the navigation bars will depend on the size of your browser window—if you make your window smaller, the gray Google+ bar will disappear as you move down your stream.

Slide-in Animation for New Notification Bar

+Brett Lider showed us a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” change to the red notification tab on the top right of the Google+ navigation bar. Now, you can see the number of notifications slide up. Watch it in action in the video below.

Permissions are Easier in Google+ Games

Last week, Google+ games were rolled out to everyone. Google is differentiating itself from Facebook with a separate game tab, and a separate game stream. This simple difference means that you’re not bombarding your friends’ streams with requests for help or showing off every single achievement to them.

Of course, there were a few bumpy issues, and Google+ is beginning to address them. +Satyjajeet Salgar tells us that we can manage game permissions a bit more easily now. While you’re in the game, click on the bottom left menu, and then choose “Manage permissions”. You can then revoke access if you don’t feel like playing the game anymore.

Start a Hangout in YouTube

+Brian Glick informed us that you can now start a hangout in YouTube. All you have to do is click the “Share” button underneath any video. Then click on the “Start a Google+ Hangout” link in the bottom right corner.

Evangelizing Google+

Last but not least, we’d like to extend our congratulations to the new Google+ evangelist +Louis Gray. +Louis Gray has been a tech blogger and an adviser for several startups, chronicling his enthusiasms for the latest advances on the web, and advocating for products he really believes in. On Monday, he gets to start a dream job promoting the best social network around. 

Photo by 3D MediaDesign

Via Google+ Pro Tips Round Up: Week 7 on googleplus.wonderhowto.com.

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Tech Tips: Google+ looks like it’s off to quick start, but so what?

The latest social media platform to make big news is Google’s
launch of Google+. Although this platform is still in its Beta
phase, it managed to break 25 million users in record time. My
initial reaction to this new platform is “So what?”

The back story to this is very interesting.

In December 2010, Facebook managed to outshine Google, and
officially overtook Google as the most visited Web page. In
response, Google parted ways with their CEO and developed their own
version of Facebook with Google+. Because of Google’s strong brand,
Google+ reached 25 million users in just 30 days and more recent
reports show it adding a million new users each day.

The only way to join Google+ is to be invited by a current
member and each member is only allowed to invite a limited number
of people. There is no current way to determine that number
threshold at the moment, remember this is a beta version.

Once you are “in” it will look familiar. Your home page allows
you to upload photos, create a biography, post recent news, chat
with friends, and find potential people to connect with.

Sounds familiar right? The one unique item on here is the
Google+ concept of “circles.” Put simply, circles breaks down into
four categories – friends, family, acquaintances and following.
This allows you to qualify when you post, what you post and who
will see it. So, if you want to tell a risque joke, but you don’t
want Aunt Sarah to read it, then only post the joke to your
“friends” circle. If you’re curious about the latest from Johnny
Depp, then you can “follow” him and get the latest post about
Captain Jack Sparrow.

Now the question remains, can Google+ maintain this momentum
with just one trick to differentiate it from Facebook?

Current trends say no. Despite the rapid rise in registered
users, Google+ is already showing a decline in daily activity. The
problem being, Google+ currently doesn’t offer many of the
applications and features available on Facebook. Frankly, Facebook
can generate their own circles format if they decide that it will
help retain users.

If you get a Google+ invite, you should accept it and poke
around to see what you think. Whether Google+ will find its way to
the business community, much like Facebook has, remains to be seen.
There’s a host of electronic media methods currently available to
get your message out, be it business or personal. If you’re
interested in finding out the fastest and most effective ways to
market, attend the Tech Council educational seminar on Sept. 30.
It’s a “how to” on Social Media and Social Networking
Marketing.

Mike Shelah is an account manager for Quantum
Telecommunications, Inc. and Ambassador Chair for the Carroll
Technology Council; he can be reached at 410-982-0045 or
mikeshelah@yahoo.com, or on Twitter @mistertelecom. For more
information about the Tech Council, visit
www.carrolltechcouncil.org.

© 2011 Carroll County Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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