Potential and Passions on Google+
By Eliece Hammond
I read a wonderful new book by one of my all-time favorite authors this week: Guy Kawasaki. If you haven’t read his stuff before, I recommend you begin with The Art of the Start.
The Art of the Start: The Time-tested, Battle-hardened Guide to Anyone Starting Anything
This book changed my approach to life.
Now, his book What the Plus: Google+ for the Rest of Us is changing my perception of social media, what it’s for and how to be an effective contributor on multiple platforms.
Understanding the Channels
Guy breaks down some major channels like this:
Twitter = Perceptions
Facebook = People
Pinterest = Pictures
Google+ = Passions
For companies who barely post updates and don’t complete their profiles and just generally don’t circle anyone on Google+: you haven’t really experienced the potential of this new platform yet. Get in the game!
That was my biggest lesson from Kawasaki’s guide. This is a new platform, it’s different, and the way people interact on it is growing and evolving. Instead of trying to follow and share with and generally create a community with the same group that we have on Twitter, Pinterest, or Facebook – try connecting with the active users that are already falling head over heels for Google+.
Kawasaki starts off by talking about his early adopter evangelism of the Mac and draws analogies to the early adopters of Plus. There is potential for Google+ to connect people and tools in a way we haven’t seen yet.
Using Google+
Here are three ways I am using Google+ better and differently now that I’ve learned the potential:
• I’m sharing things that I love from my Google Reader and interacting with my Google Reader instead of just using it as a catch-all to keep up with my favorite RSS feeds. Result: it’s like a dynamic newsfeed. Articles come to me without being posted on social media channels first. And instead of having an algorithm choose which articles I see, I pick from my curated list of favorites every time.
• I’m circling (Connecting or Following) people and companies that are new and interesting – giving me fresh perspective for online interaction. It reminds me of the first time I signed on to the internet and discovered bulletin board chats! The visibility on this new platform is wonderfully uncrowded… for now.
• The savable lists, search functions, and trending topics give me the functionality of a conversation or topic on Twitter with the content length of Facebook and the picture quality of Pinterest. I can even curate circles based on those same topics and interact only with such a group! What synergy! Now I have my geek girl circle and my gaming circle and my social media circle and my…. Okay, it is getting a little crazy. But it’s so much fun! Now I see what Kawasaki meant about Google+ = Passions.
Finally, what is more fun than being the first kid on your block to try something new? Google+ you’ve won me over with the help of Guy Kawasaki. Consider me an early adopter fan girl.
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